AMERICAN   CRISIS   BIOGRAPHIES 

Edited  by 

Ellis  Paxson  Oberholtzer,  Ph.  D. 


Hmerican  Crisis  Biographies 

Edited  by  Ellis  Paxson  Oberholtzer,  Ph.D.  With  the 
counsel  and  advice  of  Professor  John  B.  McMaster,  of 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

Each  I2mo,  cloth,  with  frontispiece  portrait.  Price 
$1.25  net;  by  mail,  $1.37. 

These  biographies  constitute  a  complete  and  comprehensive 
history  of  the  great  American  sectional  struggle  in  the  form  of  readable 
and  authoritative  biography.  The  editor  has  enlisted  the  co-operation 
of  many  competent  writers,  as  will  be  noted  from  the  list  given  below. 
An  interesting  feature  of  the  undertaking  is  that  the  series  is  to  be  im 
partial,  Southern  writers  having  been  assigned  to  Southern  subjects  and 
Northern  writers  to  Northern  supjects,  but  all  will  belong  to  the  younger 
generation  of  writers,  thus  assuring  freedom  from  any  suspicion  of  war 
time  prejudice.  The  Civil  War  will  not  be  treated  as  a  rebellion,  but  as 
the  great  event  in  the  history  of  our  nation,  which,  after  forty  years,  it 
is  now  clearly  recognized  to  have  been. 

Now  ready : 

Abraham  Lincoln.     By  ELLIS  PAXSON  OBERHOLTZER. 
Thomas  H.  Benton.     By  JOSEPH  M.  ROGERS. 
David  G.  Farragut.      By  JOHN  R.  SPEARS. 
William  T.  Sherman.     By  EDWARD  ROBINS. 
Frederick  Douglass.     By  BOOKER  T.  WASHINGTON. 
Judah  P.  Benjamin.     By  PIERCE  BUTLER. 
Robert  E.  Lee.     By  PHILIP  ALEXANDER  BRUCE. 
Jefferson  Davis.     By  PROF.  W.  E.  DODD. 
Alexander  H.  Stephens.     BY  Louis  PENDLETON. 
John  C.  Calhoun.     By  GAILLARD  HUNT. 
"  Stonewall"  Jackson.     By  HENRY  ALEXANDER  WHITE. 
John  Brown.     By  W.  E.  BURGHARDT  DUBOIS. 
Charles  Sumner.     By  PROF.  GEORGE  H.  HAYNES. 
Henry  Clay.     By  THOMAS  H.  CLAY. 
William  H.  Seward.     By  EDWARD  EVERETT  HALE,  Jr. 
Stephen  A.  Douglas.     By  PROF.  HENRY  PARKER  WILLIS. 
William  Lloyd  Garrison.     By  LINDSAY  SWIFT. 
Raphael  Semmes.     By  COLYER  MERIWETHER. 

In  preparation : 

Daniel  Webster.     By  PROF.  FREDERIC  A.  OGG. 
Ulysses  S.  Grant.     By  PROF.  FRANKLIN  S.  EDMONDS. 


AMERICAN  CRISIS  BIOGRAPHIES 


RAPHAEL  SEMMES 


by 
COLYER  MERIWETHER 

Author  of 
"  History  of  Higher  Education  in  South  Carolina,"  etc. 


PHILADELPHIA 

GEORGE  W.  JACOBS  &  COMPANY 
PUBLISHERS 


COPYRIGHT,  1913,  BY 
GEORGE  W.  JACOBS  &  COMPANY 

Published  November, 


All  rights  reserved 
Printed  in  U.  S.  A. 


ACKNOWLEDGMENT 

IN  the  preparation  of  this  work  much  help  came 
from  officials  in  the  Navy  Department  in  Washing 
ton,  and  from  the  force  in  the  Congressional  Library. 
Personally,  the  warmest  thanks  are  due  Professor 
W.  L.  Fleming,  State  University,  Baton  Eouge, 
Louisiana,  and  Dr.  Stephen  B.  Weeks,  Bureau  of 
Education,  Washington,  D.  C. 


Q 1 1  ^  A,  A  f\ 


CONTENTS 

CHRONOLOGY 9 

I.    EABLY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION     .        .  11 
II.    REGULAR   SERVICE  :    Loss   OF  THE 

"SOMERS" 32 

III.    IN  THE  MEXICAN  WAR       ...  45 
IY.    IMPRESSIONS  AND  INFLUENCES  OF  THE 

MEXICAN  WAR    ....  61 
V.    FROM  THE  MEXICAN  TO  THE  CIVIL 

WAR 84 

VI.    GETTING  OFF  WITH  THE  "  SUMTER  "  103 

VII.    A  DOZEN  PRIZES        ....  123 
VIII.    SECOND    ESCAPE   AND  END  OF  THE 

"  SUMTER"          ....  148 
IX.    ON  THE  " ALABAMA"  AMONG  THE 

WHALERS 166 

X.    THE  SINKING  OF  THE  "HATTERAS"  190 

XI.    SOUTHWARD  TO  CAPE  TOWN       .        .  211 

XII.    IN  EASTERN  WATERS  ....  239 

XIII.  THE  END  OF  THE  "ALABAMA  "         .  263 

XIV.  AFTERMATH  OF  THE  BATTLE      .        .  288 
XV.    LATER  LIFE  AND  DEATH    .        .        .318 

XVI.    THE  ALABAMA  CLAIMS— A  SEQUEL    .  349 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 358 

INDEX  .                              ...  361 


CHRONOLOGY 

1809— September  27th,  born  in  Charles  County,  Md. 

1826 — April  1st,  appointed  midshipman. 

1832 — January  31st,  ordered  to  examination. 

1832— June  1st,  warranted  passed  midshipman. 

1833— March  22d,  appointed  in  charge  of  chronometers. 

1835— July  25th,  sent  to  Constellation  as  acting  master. 

1837— February  9th,  promoted  to  Lieutenant. 

1837— May  5th,  married  Anne  Elizabeth  Spencer. 

1838— July  30th,  sent  to  Norfolk  Navy  Yard. 

1841— May  17th,  transferred  to  Pensacola  Navy  Yard. 

1843 — August  10th,  commands  Poinsett. 

1845— September  9th,  assigned  to  home  squadron. 

1846— December  8th,  loss  of  Somers. 

1848 — January  28th,  commands  Electro,. 

1849— October  12th,  detached  to  await  orders. 

1855 — September  14th,  promoted  to  commander. 

1856 — November  26th,  lighthouse  inspector. 

1858 — September  24th,  secretary  of  lighthouse  board. 

1861 — February  lltb,  member  of  lighthouse  board. 

1861 — February  15th,  resignation  from  navy  accepted. 

1861 — June  3d,  commissions  Sumter. 

1861 — June  30th,  escapes  to  the  high  aeas. 

1861 — July  3d,  makes  first  capture,  Golden  Rocket. 

1861 — November  23d,  escapes  from  St.  Pierre  harbor. 


10  CHKONOLOGY 

1862— January  18th,  reaches  Gibraltar  on  Sumter. 

1862 — April  llth,  turns  over  Sumter  to  midshipman. 

1862 — August  24th,  commissions  Alabama. 

1862 — September  5th,  Alabama's  first  capture. 

1862 — November  18th,  Alabama  enters  her  first  port. 

1863 — January  llth,  sinks  the  Hatteras. 

1863 — June  20th,  commissions  tender,  Tuscaloosa. 

1863 — August  5th,  arrives  at  Cape  Town. 

1863 — November  18th,  arrives  at  Souriton. 

1863 — December  21st,  arrives  at  Singapore. 

1864— March  20th,  again  arrives  at  Cape  Town. 

1864 — June  llth,  arrives  at  Cherbourg. 

1864 — June  19th,  Alabama  sunk  by  Kearsarge. 

1864— October  3d,  embarks  for  America. 

1865 — January  2d,  leaves  Mobile  for  Richmond. 

1865 — February  10th,  notified  of  appointment  as  Rear  Admiral. 

1865 — February  18th,  assumes  command  James  River  Fleet. 

1865 — April  2d,  ordered  to  retreat  with  Lee. 

1865 — May  1st,  paroled  in  North  Carolina. 

1865 — December  15th,  arrested  in  Mobile. 

1866 — April  6th,  released  in  Washington. 

1866— October  24th,  appointed  to  Louisiana  State  Seminary. 

1867 — June  18th,  resigns  from  Louisiana  State  Seminary. 

1869 — Publishes  book  on  Sumter  and  Alabama. 

1877— August  30th,  died  in  Mobile. 

1900 — June  27th,  his  monument  unveiled  in  Mobile. 

1909 — September  27  th,  celebration  of  the  centennial  of  his  birth. 


RAPHAEL  SEMMES 


CHAPTEE  I 

EARLY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION 

AT  an  awful  crisis  in  the  history  of  a  great  land, 
at  a  fateful  turn  in  the  path  of  humanity's  progress, 
Eaphael  Semmes  looms  up  as  a  portentous  figure. 
He  was  chief  among  those  few  daring  spirits  from 
the  South  that  swept  the  United  States  merchant 
flag  from  the  ocean,  and  he  was  the  leader  on  his 
side  in  that  contest  on  the  waters  that  was  the  cul 
mination  in  the  transition  of  the  navies  of  the  nations 
from  sail  to  steam.  He  was  preeminent  in  proving 
what  havoc  could  be  wrought  among  the  ships  of 
peace  through  the  supplementary  aid  of  Watt's 
invention.  There  had  been  gallant  cruisers  before 
him,  as  bold  and  as  resourceful,  but  none  single- 
handed  had  ever  accomplished  such  wondrous  results, 
and  his  career  has  never  been  equaled  since  his  time, 
and  perhaps  can  never  be  duplicated  in  this  period 


12  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

of  air  craft  and  wireless  telegraphy.  He  did  his 
momentous  work  in  three  years,  but  the  character 
that  guided  the  destiny  of  the  event,  and  the  mind 
that  moulded  the  means  to  an  end,  can  be  fairly 
seen  only  through  the  study  of  his  days.  Through 
the  data  provided  by  the  capable  hands  of  members 
of  his  family,  we  learn  of  his  ancestry  and  boyhood  ; 
through  his  own  pen,  through  that  of  others,  and 
through  official  records,  we  know  of  his  subsequent 
career. 

Eaphael  Semmes,  of  French- American  descent, 
and  of  Catholic  family,  was  born  in  Charles  County, 
Maryland,  on  September  27, 1809,  just  seven  months 
and  two  weeks  after  the  birth  of  Abraham  Lincoln, 
the  most  towering  personality  in  that  same  titanic 
upheaval  in  which  Semmes  won  his  fame.  The 
father  of  Eaphael  Semmes  was  Eichard  Thompson 
Semmes,  according  to  the  best  authority  "fifth  in 
descent  from  the  first  American  ancestor,  Benedict 
Joseph  Semmes,  of  Normandy,  Prance,  who  came 
over  with  Lord  Baltimore  in  1640,"  in  the  Ark  and 
Dove.  Eaphael's  "  mother  was  Catherine  Hooe 
Middleton,  a  descendant  of  Arthur  Middleton,  one 
of  the  signers  of  the  Declaration  of  Independence." 
There  was  only  one  other  child  of  this  union, 
Samuel  Middleton  Semmes,  who  afterward  be- 


EAELY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION         13 

came  a  well-known  lawyer  in  Cumberland,  Mary 
land,  and  it  was  in  the  office  of  this  brother  that 
Eaphael  read  law  and  began  that  legal  training 
that  was  to  be  of  such  service  to  him  in  his  numer 
ous  international  verbal  battles  at  the  various  ports 
he  visited  with  the  Sumter  and  Alabama.  The 
mother  died  early,  and  the  father  passed  away 
when  Eaphael  was  only  ten  years  old,  leaving  the 
two  boys  almost  penniless.  Both  were  sent  to  an 
uncle,  Eaphael  Semmes,  in  Georgetown,  District  of 
Columbia.  In  his  sketch  of  Admiral  Semmes  at  the 
celebration  of  the  centennial  of  his  birth,  DeLeon, 
the  Alabama  author,  states  that  young  Eaphael 
worked  in  his  uncle's  wood-yard,  a  likely,  certainly 
a  possible  thing  for  him  to  have  done.  He  must 
have  attended  some  of  the  private  schools  in  the 
city  as  there  was  no  thorough  public  system  of 
schools  then  in  operation  in  that  locality.  The  usual 
subjects  for  the  youth  of  his  day  received  his  care, 
all  elementary ;  chiefly  reading,  writing  and  arith 
metic.  But  either  before  removal  to  the  city  or  on 
visits  to  his  old  home  afterward,  he  got  some  of  his 
development  in  the  best  of  all  ways,  in  the  free,  open- 
air  life  in  the  country.  Here  was  room  for  untram- 
meled  growth  in  spontaneous  rivalry  with  his  play 
mates,  hardening  his  constitution,  toughening  his 


14  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

fiber,  sharpening  his  brain  and  bringing  forth  his 
power  of  initiative.  Long  years  afterward  when 
Raphael  was  in  prison  in  Washington  after  the  close 
of  the  strife,  it  was  a  tender  remembrance  that  came 
over  him  as  he  looked  from  his  window  on  his  native 
state,  Maryland,  and  on  "the  Potomac  in  whose 
waters  I  used  to  swim  and  fish  as  a  boy."  But  even 
had  the  opportunities  been  most  abounding,  the 
lad's  schooling  was  too  short  for  him  to  have  ac 
quired  more  than  the  primal  rudiments  as  he  was 
" appointed  a  midshipman  from  Maryland"  by 
President  Adams  on  April  1,  1826.  His  natural 
taste  for  the  sea  was  thus  gratified  when  he  was 
only  a  few  months  over  sixteen,  and  he  started  upon 
that  road  which  was  to  carry  him  to  the  pinnacle  of 
his  greatness. 

His  father's  brother,  Benedict  I.  Semmes,  may 
have  had  a  part  in  this  auspicious  happening  for 
the  youth.  He  was  a  citizen  of  Maryland,  a  farmer, 
and  had  served  in  the  state  legislature.  He  did  not 
become  a  member  of  Congress  till  1829,  but  his 
political  standing  may  have  been  sufficient  to  be  of 
weight  with  the  President  in  behalf  of  his  nephew. 

The  grade  of  midshipman  goes  back  to  Colonial 
days  when  the  sons  of  leading  men  felt  it  an  honor 
to  be  provided  with  such  a  berth  on  English  men-of- 


EARLY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION         15 

war.  There  is  a  tradition  that  George  Washington 
was  once  destined  for  that  service  with  the  warrant 
in  his  pocket,  but  the  rigid  investigation  of  Park 
Benjamin  fails  to  reveal  his  name  in  any  such  ca 
pacity  in  the  official  English  archives.  These 
young  'men  were  the  raw  stuif  from  which  officers 
were  to  come,  and  the  rank  lasted  till  superseded  by 
the  cadets  in  the  Naval  Academy  in  Annapolis 
which  was  established  in  1845. 

It  was  not  treated  as  of  a  very  dignified  grade, 
the  navy  regulations  sandwiching  it  in  between 
masters- at-arms  and  the  ship's  cooks.  The  duties 
were  prescribed  as  follows  : 


"Midshipmen. 

"1.  No  particular  duties  are  assigned  to  this 
class  of  officers. 

"  2.  They  are  promptly  and  faithfully  to  execute 
all  the  orders  for  the  public  service  which  they  shall 
receive  from  their  commanding  officer. 

"3.  The  commanding  officer  will  consider  the 
midshipmen  as  a  class  of  officers  meriting  in  a  special 
degree  their  fostering  care ;  they  will  see  therefore 
that  the  schoolmaster  performs  his  duties  toward 
them  by  diligently  and  faithfully  instructing  them 
in  those  sciences  appertaining  to  their  profession, 
and  that  he  use  his  utmost  care  to  render  them  pro 
ficient  therein. 

"4.  Midshipmen  are  to  keep  regular  journals 
and  deliver  them  to  the  commanding  officer  at  the 
stated  periods  in  due  form. 


16  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

"  5.  They  are  to  consider  it  as  the  duty  they  owe 
to  their  country  to  employ  a  due  portion  of  their 
time  in  the  study  of  naval  tactics  and  in  acquir 
ing  a  thorough  and  extensive  knowledge  of  all  the 
various  duties  to  be  performed  on  board  a  ship  of 
war." 


Among  the  common  run  of  men  aboard,  their 
whole  range  of  activity  was  tersely,  if  ungrammat 
ically,  summed  up  as  "  doing  what  they  were  told 
and  that — quick  !  " 

The  quarters  for  fashioning  the  future  captains 
and  admirals  were  down  in  the  steerage  of  the  old 
sailing  vessels,  narrow,  cramped,  ill  smelling. 
There  was  no  way  of  heating  the  place,  but  in  the 
severest  weather  the  shifty  occupants  were  accus 
tomed  to  heat  an  iron  ball  and  bury  it  in  a  bucket 
of  sand,  and  then  sit  around  this  with  their  feet  on 
it.  They  packed  their  belongings  in  lockers  and 
drawers,  oftentimes  jamming  them  so  full  that  the 
door  could  only  be  closed  by  the  owner  stretching 
himself,  and  bracing  his  feet  and  back  against  the 
wall  or  ceiling  and  closing  up  his  goods  by  such 
sheer  strength  that  when  he  opened  the  receptacle 
some  things  would  fly  out  in  the  manner  of  a  Jack- 
in-a-box.  They  slept  in  hammocks,  and  many  were 
the  pranks  they  played  on  one  another,  hiding  some 


EAELY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION         17 

parts  or  cutting  the  suspending  cords,  and  letting 
down  the  sleeping  inmate  with  hard  bumps  on  the 
floor.  Here  in  these  dark  and  foul  precincts,  the 
rats  found  happy  homes  and  scampered  in  great 
freedom.  A  warmer  welcome  was  extended  to  the 
swarms  of  cockroaches,  as  it  was  believed  by  many 
that  they  fed  upon  the  tribe  of  smaller  insects  that 
were  more  pertinacious,  and  more  shunned  in  polite 
society. 

In  clothing  there  was  a  community  of  interest, 
and  it  was  the  usual  thing  to  borrow,  or  rather  to 
take,  whatever  articles  of  dress  each  needed,  espe 
cially  on  occasions  of  dignity  when  it  was  necessary 
to  make  a  good  appearance.  Generally,  there  was 
only  about  a  third  of  a  full  outfit  of  all  garments 
for  the  whole  group,  but  as  a  fair  proportion  was 
always  asleep  or  at  rest,  none  were  forced  to  go  only 
partly  clad.  The  pea  jackets,  of  course,  were  most 
in  demand,  and  usage  set  aside  a  handily  placed 
box,  dubbed  "pea  jacket  hole,"  into  which  each 
cast  this  article  as  soon  as  he  came  below,  and  out 
of  it  snatched  the  one  on  top  as  he  went  out  again. 
There  was  danger  from  all  this  easy  familiarity 
with  other  people's  raiment,  and  the  authorities  of 
the  Navy  Department  tried  to  check  the  habit. 
They  solemnly  fulminated  against  the  practice  and 


18  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

ordered  the  captains  to  put  a  stop  to  it  as  it  was 
"  improvident  and  unclean." 

But  perhaps  the  youngsters  felt  they  had  an  ex 
ample  of  indifference,  even  slovenliness,  set  by  their 
betters  in  the  bad  fare  served  them.  Loathsome 
food  was  the  " hardtack  infested  with  weevils/7 
then  rebaked,  weevils  and  all  inside,  and  placed  be 
fore  hungry  mouths.  Grog  was  a  standard  part  of 
the  rations,  though  it  was  no  longer  dealt  out  after 
1842.  During  the  previous  period,  there  was 
solicitude  shown  for  the  health  of  the  newcomers  by 
the  older  hands,  as  these  would  generously  drink 
the  allowance  themselves  to  remove  temptation  from 
their  younger  brethren.  It  scarcely  sweetened  their 
nourishment  to  have  their  dining  tables  set  in  these 
unpleasant  surroundings,  but  here  all  their  bodily 
functions  of  eating,  drinking,  sleeping,  resting  had 
to  be  indulged. 

What  with  these  limited  confines,  the  darkness, 
the  cold,  the  bad  air,  the  unsavory  scents,  the 
vermin  racing  and  crawling,  the  insects  biting,  the 
exchanged  clammy  costumes,  the  mixed  diet — there 
is  some  admiration  due  the  middy  bolder  than  the 
rest  who  ventured  to  complain  that  the  steerage 
was  uncomfortable,  even  if  he  did  get  a  crushing 
answer.  "Uncomfortable,  sir!  uncomfortable! 


EAELY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION         19 

Why,  what  blanked  fool  ever  joined  the  navy  for 
comfort  ?  "  l 

;  It  was  a  rough  experience,  with  superiors  as  well 
as  with  equals.  An  angry  captain  would  strike 
with  his  fist  or  bowl  over  with  anything  handy. 
One  knocked  a  middy  down  with  his  speaking- 
trumpet,  but  the  boy  being  spirited  and  short 
sighted  appealed  to  the  commodore.  He  received 
opprobrious  language  from  the  captain  and  made  a 
second  complaint,  and  finally  the  captain  was  haled 
before  a  court  martial,  and,  of  course,  acquitted  on 
the  defense  that  it  was  an  accident.  He  further  re 
lieved  his  feelings  by  charging  that  the  middy  was 
actuated  by  * i  malignant  motives. "  It  is  not  known 
but  it  may  be  safely  said  that  that  middy  made  no 
more  appeals  above  his  captain's  head.  His  only 
consolation  was  that  in  the  future  when  he  walked 
the  quarter-deck  he  could  vent  his  spite  on  his  sub 
ordinates.  So  loud  were  the  murmurs  against  such 
tyranny  that  the  matter  of  the  treatment  of  midship 
men  reached  the  ears  of  Congress  and  an  investiga 
tion  was  had,  but  the  officers  won,  as  nothing  was 
done  to  soften  the  harshness. 

Among  themselves  also  blows  were  frequent,  and 
rough  and  tumble  fights  not  rare.     But  as  became 
1  Benjamin,  "U.  S.  Naval  Academy,"  p.  89. 


20  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

gentlemen  of  their  age  and  dignity,  the  settlement 
of  differences  by  the  duel  was  common.  In  this 
they  were  only  patterning  after  their  officers  who  had 
the  sanction  of  the  past  centuries  and  the  indorsement 
of  President  Jackson,  who  opposed  this  form  of 
combat  between  citizens  or  between  officers  and 
citizens,  but  declared  he  "  would  not  interfere  be 
tween  officers  whose  profession  was  fighting  and 
who  were  trained  to  arms.'7 1 

With  the  officers  there  was  a  degree  of  caution 
and  ceremonial  that  the  midshipmen  with  more  of 
the  fire  of  youth  and  less  of  the  advantages  of 
quarters  could  not  emulate.  Notwithstanding  the 
disparity,  deaths  on  the  field  of  honor  were  as  fre 
quent  proportionately  in  one  as  in  the  other  rank. 
While  no  figures  can  be  produced  fatalities  occurred 
from  time  to  time  among  the  midshipmen.  As  to 
the  number  of  these  contests,  a  competent  inves 
tigator  has  counted  up  eighty  duels  in  the  "Old 
Navy  "  among  officers  and  midshipmen,  in  fifty-two 
of  which  midshipmen  participated.2  Some  of  the 
offenses  were  trivial,  some  of  the  duels  ridiculous, 
pathetic,  and  tragical. 

One  instance  combines  all  these  elements.     On 


1  Benjamin,  "  U.  S.  Naval  Academy,"  p.  96. 
8Paullin,  "  Dueling  in  the  Old  Navy,"  p.  1157. 


EAELY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION         21 

one  occasion  a  vessel  with  her  quota  of  midshipmen, 
while  at  anchor  in  the  harbor  of  Genoa,  was  visited 
by  royalty.  Of  course,  the  midshipmen  in  full  uni 
form  were  drawn  up  in  their  place  in  honor  of  the 
guests.  After  these  had  passed  two  of  the  young 
soldiers  fell  to  disputing  as  to  whether  the  queen  in 
the  party  was  a  fine-looking  lady  or  not.  One  of 
them  ended  the  altercation  by  skilfully  ducking  his 
head  and  driving  the  point  of  his  cocked  hat  into  his 
opponent's  eye.  After  they  were  dismissed,  a  small 
party  sat  at  one  end  of  the  dining-table  in  the  steer 
age  drawing  up  a  challenge.  Another  party  sat  at 
the  other  end  waiting  to  receive  and  answer  it. 
After  these  preliminaries  had  been  duly  observed, 
the  two  sides,  principals,  seconds  and  assistants, 
got  into  the  same  boat  and  were  rowed  ashore,  and 
jointly  bought  ramrods  for  their  pistols  as  they  had 
forgot  to  bring  them  along.  On  taking  stock  of 
their  money,  it  was  found  that  in  all  purses  com 
bined  there  was  enough  to  hire  only  one  carriage,  so 
all  got  in  and  set  out  for  the  open  country,  as  they 
thought.  No  one  speaking  Italian,  the  cabman, 
not  understanding  English,  naturally  supposed  they 
wanted  to  see  the  sights,  and  he  drove  from  church 
to  church,  from  statue  to  fountain,  in  spite  of  all  the 
frantic  gesticulations  and  fierce  words  of  his  passen- 


22  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

gers.  Finally  despairing  of  ever  reaching  a  clear 
space  for  a  punctilious  encounter,  they  got  out  in 
the  middle  of  the  street,  stepped  off  the  distance 
and  began  to  load.  It  was  then  seen  that  the  bullets 
were  too  large  for  the  bore,  and  they  had  to  be  pared 
down  with  knives  that  passed  from  one  to  another 
indiscriminately.  At  last,  after  all  these  amusing 
incidents,  the  two  principals  faced  each  other  with 
deadly  intent  and  fired.  One  was  removed  with  a 
shattered  knee,  a  cripple  for  life,  the  other  was  un 
hurt,  but  all  amicably  returned  to  the  vessel  to 
gether.  There  was  no  investigation  of  the  matter- 
either  there  or  in  the  city. 

Amid  unfavorable  surroundings,  and  the  distrac 
tion  of  quarrels,  the  midshipmen  were  expected  to 
get  an  education  fitting  for  subsequent  high  official 
station.  For  entrance,  each  had  to  meet  these 
qualifications:  "No  person  will  be  appointed  a 
midshipman  unless  evidence  be  furnished  that  he 
can  read  and  write  well ;  understands  the  principles 
of  English  grammar ;  and  the  elementary  rules  of 
arithmetic  and  geography. "  l 

After  admission,  there  were  three  schools,  so 
called,  that  he  could  attend,  New  York,  Nqrfak, 
and  Boston.  But  he  was  expected  to  put  in  most 

1  "  Navy  Regulations  of  1831." 


EAELY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION         23 

of  his  time  at  sea,  finishing  up  at  one  of  these  three 
institutions  toward  the  close  of  his  term.  On  board 
ship  he  was  to  stand  watch,  do  all  he  was  told  to  do, 
and  yet  prosecute  his  studies  so  as  to  be  ready  for 
the  examination  at  the  date  set,  with  the  extra 
help  he  would  get  at  the  school  for  the  last  few 
mouths. 

There  was  a  teacher  on  board  who  did  his  task 
when  and  where  he  could,  though  usually  in  the 
forenoon.  There  was  no  regular  place  of  meeting,— 
sometimes  behind  i '  a  screen  on  the  gun  deck,  some 
times  in  the  semi-darkness  of  the  berth  deck,  and 
sometimes  the  captain  would  give  the  use  of  his 
forward  cabin."  The  attendance  had  to  be  very 
irregular  as  those  on  watch  could  not  be  present. 
Of  the  rest  some  had  been  roused  at  four  to  superin 
tend  the  deck  washing,  while  others  had  been  on 
watch  from  midnight  to  four,  and  both  sets  were 
liable  to  be  sleepy  and  sluggish.  Again,  most  dis 
tracting  of  all,  any  pupil  must  answer  an  urgent 
call  elsewhere,  and  the  whole  class  might  have  to 
vacate  their  premises  for  some  movement  or  evolu 
tion  of  the  crew.  Over  and  through  all  were  the 
constant  bustle  and  noise  inseparable  from  the  life 
on  ocean-going  craft.  The  teachers  too  were  hardly 
of  high  grade ;  they  could  not  be,  on  an  annual 


24  RAPHAEL  SEMMES 

salary  of  only  $900,  increased  after  many  years  to 
$1,200. 

With  such  unsysteinatized  methods  went  confu 
sion  and  differences  of  purpose.  Some  captains 
•idvised  their  young  charges  to  study  French,  Span 
ish,  and  dancing  only.  Others  counseled  them  to 
eschew  books  entirely  but  to  "keep  their  eyes 
open,"  and  get  a  thorough  grasp  of  the  practical 
side  of  their  calling.  Some  extremists,  who  them 
selves  possibly  had  only  meager  knowledge,  churl 
ishly  objected  to  their  understanding  the  chronome 
ter  and  other  instruments  of  precision,  feeling  that 
that  was  a  secret  reserved  for  the  captain  and  higher 
officers  and  declaring  that  it  was  ''officious  and  un 
becoming  the  character  of  gentlemen  "  for  them  to 
handle  such  apparatus. 

But  there  was  an  official  list  of  subjects  they  were 
to  be  examined  in  before  being  rated  as  passed  mif* 
shipinen.  By  1821  it  was  promulgated  that  they 
were  to  pass  proper  tests  in  u  rigging  and  stowing  a 
ship,  the  management  of  artillery  at  sea,  arithmetic, 
navigation,  and  the  mode  of  making  astronomical 
calculations  for  nautical  purposes."  '  This  same 
authority  stressed  the  importance  of  moral  habits 
and  upright  character.  Just  twenty  years  after 

1  "  Rules  and  Regulations  of  the  Navy  Department,  1821." 


EAELY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION          25 

ward,  the  requirements  can  be  seen  in  more  detail 
as  the  examination  then  covered  "Bowditch's 
Navigation,"  "Playfair's  Euclid"  (Books  1,  2,  3,  4, 
6),  "McClure's  Spherics,"  Spanish  or  French  lan 
guage,  mental  and  moral  philosophy,  and  "  Bour 
don's  Algebra,"  besides  the  useful  applications  in 
cluded  under  the  broad  term  " seamanship."  But 
there  was  one  subject  that  was  insisted  on  by  all 
with  unyielding  firmness,  the  keeping  of  a  diary. 
This  had  to  pass  the  captain's  inspection,  and  no 
leave  ashore  was  permitted  the  unlucky  midshipman 
who  overlooked  this  requisite.  Many  were  doubt 
less  only  mere  repositories  of  the  driest  routine 
matters,  but  it  was  a  happy  device  to  teach  spelling, 
punctuation,  composition  and  handwriting.  Gen 
erally,  however,  the  theoretical  branches  of  the 
course  were  neglected  till  the  last  six  months  which 
were  usually  spent  at  one  of  the  three  schools.  Then 
the  candidates  gave  all  their  strength  to  "  boning 
up"  on  these,  trusting  to  a  stimulated  memory  to 
retain  enough  to  satisfy  the  examiners.  Ordinarily 
there  was  little  attempt,  even  if  there  had  been  time 
arid  inclination,  at  an  understanding  of  the  princi 
ples  of  any  of  the  scientific  topics  that  had  to  be 
covered.  The  rules  and  formulas  for  methods  of 
calculations  were  memorized  and  recited.  It  is  very 


26  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

likely  that  the  average  board  did  not  want  too  deep 
an  insight  on  the  part  of  the  applicant,  as  the  mem 
bers  might  then  have  had  to  display  their  own 
ignorance. 

The  examinations  were  oral,  conducted  by  a  com 
mittee  consisting  of  a  commodore  as  chairman  and 
two  or  three  captains  as  members,  with  a  teacher 
often  present  as  the  specialist  in  mathematics  and 
sciences.  For  a  number  of  years  they  convened 
once  annually  in  Barnum's  Hotel  in  Baltimore. 
Here  sitting  in  a  room  they  had  the  candidates  wait 
their  turn  in  the  barroom  below  or  in  the  lobby,  while 
they  all,  one  at  a  time,  came  before  this  group  that 
opened  or  barred  farther  progress  in  the  navy. 
Usually  a  little  over  an  hour  was  given  to  each  in 
dividual,  more  than  half,  or  sometimes  all,  the 
period  being  devoted  to  the  practical  part,  seaman 
ship. 

Woe  be  to  the  expert  assistant  if  he  went  too 
thoroughly  into  some  scientific  topic  in  his  ques 
tions.  The  others  of  course  could  not  follow  him, 
and  it  would  be  too  embarrassing  for  the  superiors 
to  be  at  the  mercy  of  a  subordinate.  He  would  be 
cut  short,  and  at  times  his  farther  aid  dispensed 
with  on  some  plausible  pretext.  Some  of  these  were 
themselves  superficial  and  opinionated.  One  amus- 


EABLY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION         27 

ing  instance  is  remembered  in  connection  with  the 
famous  scientist,  Maury.  In  his  examination  he 
boldly  disregarded  the  formula  from  Bowditch  for 
lunar  distances  and  capably  treated  the  case  as  a 
problem  in  spherical  trigonometry.  The  professor 
blundered  along  after  him,  and  finally  declared  that 
Maury  was  wrong  in  his  exposition,  but  Maury 
valiantly  stood  his  ground,  and  at  last  appealed  to 
the  full  board  sitting  solemnly  by.  These  evidently 
knew  nothing  about  Maury 's  demonstration,  but 
felt  it  safer  to  rely  on  their  authority  and  sided  with 
the  professor.  So  Maury,  "  probably  the  most 
learned  navigator  the  navy  ever  had,7'  suffered 
because  of  their  stupidity,  and  in  spite  of  his  great 
talents  passed  as  only  number  twenty-seven  in  a 
class  of  forty  and  lost  two  years  in  promotion.1 

The  destiny  of  a  youth  often,  no  doubt,  depended 
on  the  temper  or  caprice  of  the  chairman  whose 
fancy  might  be  tickled  by  a  bluff  answer.  There  is 
a  comical  illustration  on  record  that  might  be 
typical  of  many. 

The  following  account  of  one  of  these  original 
tests  is  preserved  : 

Commodore  :  "  Mr.  Tatuall,  what  would  be  your 
course  supposing  you  were  off  a  lea  shore,  the  wind 
1  Beujainin,  "U.  S.  Naval  Academy,"  p.  116. 


28  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

blowing  a  gale,  both  anchors  and  your  rudder  gone, 
all  your  canvas  carried  away,  and  your  ship  scud 
ding  rapidly  toward  the  breakers?  " 

Tatnall :  "I  cannot  conceive,  sir,  that  such  a 
combination  of  disaster  could  possibly  befall  a  ship 
in  one  voyage." 

Commodore  :  "  Tut,  tut,  young  gentleman  ;  we 
must  have  your  opinion,  supposing  such  a  case  to 
have  actually  occurred." 

Tatnall :  "  Well,  sir,— sails  all  carried  away,  do 
you  say.  sir?" 

Commodore  :     "  Aye,  all,  every  rag." 

Tatnall :     "  Anchor  gone  too,  sir  ?  " 

Commodore  :     "Aye,  not  an  uncommon  case." 

Tatnall :     "No  rudder,  either f ' ' 

Commodore:  "Aye,  rudder  unshipped.  (Tat 
nall  drops  his  head  despairingly  in  deep  thought.) 
Come,  sir,  come  bear  a  hand  about  it.  What  would 
you  do  ?  " 

Tatnall  (at  last  and  desperate)  :  < «  Well,  I'd  let  the 
infernal  tub  go  to  the  devil,  where  she  ought  to  go." 

Commodore  (joyously*)  :  "Eight,  sir,  perfectly 
right.  That  will  do,  sir.  The  clerk  will  note  that 
Mr.  Tatnall  has  passed."  1 

While  preparing  the  midshipmen  by  this  course 
1  Benjamin,  "U.  S.  Naval  Academy,"  pp.  116,  117. 


EAELY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION         29 

of  training  and  education,  the  government  paid 
them  for  their  time  and  services.  The  scale  of  pay 
varied  from  interval  to  interval,  but  ranged  from 
something  like  $200  annually  to  about  $400,  making 
allowance  for  rations  and  variety  and  length  of 
service.  It  was  popular,  as  there  seems  to  have  been 
no  lack  of  applicants.  During  the  years  of  Semmes' 
apprenticeship,  there  were  374  midshipmen  in  1827  ; 
392  in  1828  ;  435  in  1829  ;  435  in  1830  ;  377  in  1831  j 
and  345  in  1832. 

The  pregnant  years  of  budding  manhood  Semmes 
spent  in  this  environment,  with  its  narrow  quarters 
on  board  ship,  amid  fighting,  dueling  companions, 
snatching  whatever  leisure  he  could  from  all  the 
calls  of  duty  and  the  diversions  of  comradeship  for 
his  books.  All  these  experiences  came  at  that  age 
with  him  corresponding  to  the  college  course  of 
to-day,  a  period  decisive  of  the  life  path  of  so  many 
men.  So  frequently  then  are  preferences  developed, 
ambitions  aroused,  and  ways  opened.  It  was  under 
this  system  that  Semmes  received  his  nautical  prep 
aration,  got  a  mastery  of  naval  details,  laid  the 
foundation  of  that  sea  knowledge,  in  a  word  was 
fitted,  so  far  as  instruction  and  discipline  can  shape 
and  mould  native  gifts  and  character,  for  that 
meteoric  work  he  did  a  third  of  a  century  later. 


30  BAPHAEL  SEMMES 

Because  of  its  shortcomings  and  defects,  it  was  ad 
mirably  suited  for  bringing  out  the  exceptional  man 
who  had  room  for  expansion.  The  two  great  Civil 
War  admirals,  Farragut  and  Porter,  were  both  mid 
shipmen,  while  Winslow,  the  only  man  ever  to  bring 
down  Sernmes'  flag,  was  contemporary  with  Sernmes 
in  this  nautical  academy. 

Semmes7  passage  through  this  seminary  of  mari 
time  nurture  can  be  briefly  traced  by  the  few  land 
marks  surviving  in  the  archives.  He  was  first 
assigned  to  the  Lexington  which  was  sent  to  the 
Island  of  Trinidad  in  the  fall  of  1826  to  bear  home 
the  body  of  Commodore  O.  H.  Perry,  of  Lake  Erie 
fame  in  1813.  Afterward  the  ship  cruised  in  the 
West  Indies,  and  also  crossed  over  to  the  Mediter 
ranean,  Semmes  remaining  with  her  for  two  years. 
With  a  brief  respite  on  land,  he  sailed  on  the  Erie  for 
Curagoa,  in  the  Spanish  Main,  and  later  in  the  Bran- 
dywine  he  visited  that  region,  until  in  September, 
1831,  he  was  ordered  ashore,  as  he  had  then  spent 
the  probationary  period  for  midshipmen,  five  years. 
Daring  that  period  he  had  had  chance  to  learn  the 
channels,  the  reefs,  the  headlands  and  bars  of  the 
West  Indies,  and  had  had  a  glimpse  of  two  of  the 
continents  of  the  Old  World,  Africa  and  Europe. 
To  strengthen  him  to  face  that  inquisitorial  body  in 


EAELY  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION         31 

Baltimore,  he  was  ordered  to  the  Norfolk  Navy  Yard 
to  carry  on  his  mathematical  studies.  Here  he  had 
the  help  of  a  well-known  teacher,  Professor  Don 
Eoderigo.  So  far  as  known,  Semmes  had  not  wasted 
his  moments  during  the  preceding  five  years,  and  he 
likely  profited  eminently  by  his  regular  instruction, 
now  fortunately  without  the  interruptions  unavoid 
able  on  ship.  At  any  rate,  all  things  possibly  com 
bining,  his  physical  vigor  from  inheritance  and  from 
early  days  in  the  country,  his  native  keenness  of 
mind,  his  coaching  at  Norfolk,  gave  him  the  first 
honors  of  his  class,  and  he  joined  the  corps  of  passed 
midshipmen l  on  April  28,  1832. 

1  Maffitt,  South  Atlantic  Quarterly,  Nov.,  1877. 


CHAPTEE  II 

REGULAR  SERVICE  :   LOSS  OF  THE    "  SOMERS  " 

DURING  the  three  years  after  winning  the  grade 
of  passed  midshipman,  Semmes  spent  about  twelve 
months  in  charge  of  chronometers,  perhaps  thus 
early  developing  for  these  instruments  a  taste  that 
he  was  to  have  so  many  chances  to  gratify  some 
three  decades  later  on  the  Alabama,  when  he  always 
seized  this  property  of  his  prizes.  The  other  two- 
thirds  of  this  period  were  apparently  leisure  moments 
which  he  utilized  in  part  at  least  for  the  faithful 
study  of  law  in  the  office  of  his  brother,  in  Cumber 
land,  and  acquired  a  knowledge  that  was  to  be  of 
inestimable  value  to  him  when  he  was  cut  off  from 
all  libraries  and  expert  counsel,  and  had  to  depend 
on  his  own  legal  lore  for  the  determination  of  intri 
cate  questions.  It  was  his  ambition  to  practice  in 
Washington,  the  capital  of  the  country,  but  he  re 
mained  in  his  calling  and  was  ordered  to  the  Con 
stellation  as  acting  master  in  July,  1835. 

He  was  on  her  for  two  years  cruising  in  the  waters 
between  the  two  American  continents,  learning  all 


EEGULAE  SERVICE  33 

the  tortuous  lanes  among  the  thousands  of  islands  in 
that  region.  But  he  was  not  idle  during  his  hours 
off  duty.  He  had  taken  aboard  with  him  a  collec 
tion  of  books  of  law  and  during  his  absence  on  the 
waters  he  was  adding  to  his  knowledge  of  this  sub 
ject. 

On  his  return  he  was  granted  leave  of  absence  and 
went  to  Cincinnati,  then  a  small  frontier  town,  to 
visit  friends.  Here  his  acquaintance  with  the  prin 
ciples  of  Black  stone,  Kent  and  other  writers  first 
came  to  light  in  a  practical  way.  Against  Salmon 
P.  Chase,  afterward  Chief  Justice  of  the  United 
States,  he  successfully  defended  some  young  men 
who  were  prosecuted  for  the  destruction  of  the  print 
ing  press  of  an  abolition  paper.1 

But  this  was  not  the  only  event  of  his  stay  in  this 
Western  town.  It  was  here  that  he  solemnized  his 
marriage.  It  is  related  by  his  eldest  son  : 

"On  May  5,  1837,  Eaphael  Semmes,  then  a  lieu 
tenant  in  the  United  States  Navy,  married  Anne 
Elizabeth  Spencer,  the  only  daughter  of  Oliver 
Marlborough  Spencer  and  Electra  Ogden.  Mrs. 
Semmes7  grandfather,  Oliver  Spencer,  a  revolu 
tionary  colonel,  had  moved  from  New  Jersey  to 

1  New  Orleans  Times- Democrat  of  Sept.  26,  1909,  quoting  Mrs. 
Electra  Semmes  Colston,  the  eldest  daughter  of  Admiral  Semmes. 


34  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

Cincinnati,  when  the  latter  was  nothing  more  than 
a  military  post,  and  her  father  was  the  first  mayor 
of  the  town."  l  On  March  6th  of  that  year  Semmes 
had  been  "  promoted  to  be  a  lieutenant  from  Febru 
ary  9th  preceding." 

From  this  time  on  to  the  Mexican  War  he  fol 
lowed  the  usual  routine  of  naval  officers.  He  served 
on  the  Consort,  Warren  and  Porpoise,  did  duty  in 
the  navy  yards  at  Norfolk  and  Pensacola,  took  part 
in  harbor  surveys  of  various  Southern  ports,  all 
doubtless  monotonous  enough  to  an  active  brain. 
But  Semmes  got  some  variety  of  experience  at  Pen- 
sacola  by  attending  the  courts,  and  practicing  his 
agreeable  profession.  It  was  here  also  that  he  pur 
chased  lands  on  the  Perdido  River,  with  several  of 
his  comrades. 

As  the  troubles  with  Mexico  began  to  thicken,  he 
was  ordered  in  1844  to  convey  a  diplomatic  messen 
ger  to  Vera  Cruz  on  the  small  steamer  which  he 
then  commanded.  He  did  so  and  accompanied  the 
envoy  to  the  city  of  Mexico,  thus  getting  a  chance, 
which  of  course  his  keen  insight  and  close  observa 
tion  fully  utilized,  of  "  becoming  acquainted  with 
the  temper  and  feelings  of  the  country. "  Just  be 
fore  the  outbreak  of  hostilities  between  the  two  na- 
1<4So.  Hist.  Soc.  Papers,"  Vol.  38,  1910,  p.  29. 


EEGULAK  SEKVICE  35 

tioiis,  he  was  despatched  on  a  cruise  of  five  or  six 
weeks  to  St.  Domingo,  and  it  was  here  he  learned 
from  some  American  newspapers  of  the  first  clash 
of  arms,  and  of  the  American  victories.  Continuing 
on  to  Pensacola,  the  naval  base  for  the  operations 
against  Mexico,  he  remained  there  only  long  enough 
to  get  water  and  provisions,  some  eight  or  ten  days, 
and  then  rejoined  the  fleet  at  Vera  Cruz,  some  time 
in  July,  1846.  Shortly  after  he  was  assigned  to  the 
command  of  the  brig  SomerSj  of  ten  guns,  her  cap 
tain  having  been  invalided  home. 

The  boat  had  unpleasant  historical  associations. 
It  was  on  board  of  her,  four  years  before,  that  three 
of  her  crew,  one  a  son  of  the  then  secretary  of  the 
United  States  treasury,  had  been  hanged  for  con 
spiring  to  mutiny.  But  Semmes  was  not  troubled 
with  any  superstitions  and  soon  won  the  high  com 
mendation  of  the  officer  in  command  of  the  blockade. 
One  of  the  most  intrepid  of  Semmes'  brother  cruisers 
during  the  Civil  War,  J.  W.  Maffitt,  relates  the  fol 
lowing  incident  in  regard  to  the  handling  of  the 
Somers : 

i  i  She  was  placed  on  blockade  service,  with  orders 
to  permit  nothing  to  enter  the  port  of  Vera  Cruz. 
It  was  the  old  commodore's  delight  to  visit  the  deck 
at  all  hours  of  the  night  and  in  all  weathers— i»'" 


36  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

glass  in  hand — to  scan  the  horizon  to  seaward  of  the 
castle  of  San  Juan  d'  Ulloa.  *  What  a  perfect  owl 
by  night,  and  hawk  by  day,  is  the  commander  of 
your  little  brig, '  he  would  constantly  remark.  '  He 
is  never  out  of  place,  always  the  faithful  sentinel, 
true  to  his  beat,  in  storm  or  in  calm.  They  call 
him  a  sea  lawyer.  Humph  !  If  he  does  indulge  in 
Blackstone,  I'll  be  damned  if  he  has  neglected  his 
Dorset/  Lever ,  for  that  brig  is  always  handled  with 
seamanlike  ability.'  "  l 

Semmes'  audacity  and  determination  were  put  to 
a  severe  test  of  which  the  same  narrator  has  given 
us  a  lively  account.  A  Mexican  boat,  Creole, 
slipped  at  frightful  hazard  through  the  encompass 
ing  line  and  moored  under  the  guns  of  the  castle. 
There  had  been  no  slackness  on  the  part  of  Semmes, 
but  he  felt  chagrined,  even  angry,  that  he  had  been 
outwitted.  "  Flaunt  your  flags  and  blow  your 
brains  out  on  those  infernal  bugles.  That  cargo 
belongs  to  the  flames  and  not  to  your  army.  Well 
do  I  comprehend  what  are  the  contents  of  your 
steamer  when  such  extraordinary  risks  are  run  in 
getting  her  into  port."  He  consulted  with  his 
aides,  and  in  the  dark  ran  in  as  close  to  the  shore 
as  safety  allowed.  A  boat  with  less  than  ten  men 

1  South  Atlantic,  Nov.,  1877,  p.  5. 


KEGULAR  SEBVICE  37 

on  her  was  "pulled  with  muffled  oars  slowly  toward 
the  castle  ;  the  instructions  were  not  to  make  any 
attempt  upon  the  steamer  until  half-past  eleven 
o'clock.  A  gentle  land  breeze  barely  swelled  the 
topsails  of  the  Somers  as  she  rose  and  fell  with  the 
undulating  billows  of  the  Gulf.  .  .  .  Six  bells 
were  struck  (11  p.  M.).  Thirty  minutes  more  of 
anxious  anticipation  were  to  be  endured.  Every 
minute  seemed  to  elongate  into  twenty.  The  half 
hour  expired.  At  the  castle  there  was  darkness 
and  nothing  more.  .  .  .  Suddenly  loud  cheers 
broke  unrestrainedly  from  the  officers  and  crew  as 
flashes  succeeded  by  bright  flames  illumined  the 
frowning  castle  of  San  Juan  d'  Ulloa,  the  cathedral 
domes  and  spires,  and  the  embattled  wall  of  Vera 
Cruz.  .  .  .  Fiercely  burned  the  fated  steamer 
amid  the  discharge  of  heavy  ordnance,  discordant 
bugle  blasts  and  confusion  worse  confounded  among 
the  Mexican  soldiery.  Brighter  and  more  fierce 
grew  the  conflagration  as  the  shells  and  Congreve 
rockets  burst  in  the  air,  increasing  the  grandeur  of 
this  warlike,  pyrotechnic  display.  Suddenly  a 
dense  volume  of  lurid  smoke,  mingled  with  burning 
timbers,  masts  and  spars,  was  borne  upward,  ac 
companied  by  an  explosion  that  thundered  hoarsely 
over  land  and  sea,  echoing  back  from  the  distant 


38  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

mountains ;  when,  in  Egyptian  darkness,  the  cur 
tain  fell  upon  this  terrible  nautical  drama.  The 
Creole  was  destroyed."  1 

To  this  same  incident  Seinmes  himself  devotes 
only  a  few  very  modest  lines.  Some  eight  of  his 
crew,  he  says,  "  performed  the  clever  exploit  of 
burning  the  Mexican  merchant  brig  Creole  under 
the  walls  of  San  Juan  d'  Ulloa.  They  pulled  in 
under  cover  of  night  and  boarding  the  vessel  with 
out  opposition  fired  her  in  several  places  and  de 
parted  unmolested,  although  within  pistol  range  of 
the  castle.  Some  little  noise  having  been  made  on 
board  the  brig  when  they  were  in  the  act  of  boarding, 
they  were  hailed  by  one  of  the  sentinels  ;  but  Lieu 
tenant  Parker,  speaking  the  language  like  a  native, 
gave  some  satisfactory  reply  and  they  were  not 
further  noticed."  2 

It  comes  as  an  anti-climax  to  learn  that  this 
gallant  deed  was  all  a  mistake,  as  she  had  been 
allowed  to  run  into  the  blockade.  The  commander 
of  the  fleet  was  using  her  as  a  spy  ship,  and  if  he 
had  known  such  an  attack  was  contemplated  he 
would  have  forbidden  it.3 


1  Maffitt  in  South  Atlantic,  Nov.,  1877,  pp.  6,  7. 

8  "Service  Afloat  and  Ashore,"  p.  91. 

3  Spears,  "  History  of  Our  Navy,"  Vol.  Ill,  p.  417. 


BEGULAR  SERVICE  39 

But  the  Somers  was  soon  to  end  her  course.  In 
less  than  three  weeks  she  was  caught  in  a  norther, 
and  sank  in  a  few  minutes,  the  first  of  the  two  boats 
that  were  to  go  down  under  Semmes  in  his  entire 
life.  Of  this  disaster  his  pen  gives  this  graphic 
account  to  his  superior  : 

"It  becomes  my  painful  duty  to  inform  you  of 
the  loss  of  the  U.  S.  Brig  Somers,  late  under  my 
command,  and  of  the  drowning  of  more  than  half 
her  crew.  The  details  of  the  sad  catastrophe  are, 
briefly,  as  follows :  After  having  been  forty-five 
days  maintaining  the  blockade  of  Vera  Cruz,  I 
anchored,  on  the  evening  of  the  second  inst.,  under 
Verde  Island,  where  it  had  been  my  practice  to  take 
shelter  from  the  northwest  gales,  that  blow  with 
such  frequency  and  violence  along  this  coast,  at  this 
season  of  the  year.  Soon  after  sunrise,  a  sail  having 
been  descried  from  the  masthead,  I  immediately 
got  under  way,  and  commenced  beating  up,  between 
the  Verde  Islands  and  Paxaros  reefs.  In  a  short 
time  I  was  enabled  with  my  glass  to  make  out  the 
strange  sail  to  be  a  man-of-war;  whereupon  I 
hoisted  my  number  and  had  the  satisfaction  in 
fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  more  to  see  the  stranger 
show  that  of  the  John  Adams. 

"The  wind,  which  had  been  blowing  from  the 
W.  2S".  W.  when  we  got  under  way,  gradually 
hauled  to  the  northward  and  settled  for  a  while  at 
N".  ]ST.  E.  The  barometer  having  fallen  the  night 
previous  to  29.80  in.,  and  being  still  down  and  the 
weather  looking  still  unsettled,  I  was  apprehensive 
of  a  gale.  As  soon  therefore  as  the  John  Adams 
showed  her  number,  I  wore  and  ran  down  toward 


40  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

Verde  Islands,  with  the  view  of  coming  to  and 
getting  my  vessel  snug  before  the  gale  should  come 
on.  When  I  had  nearly  approached  the  anchorage, 
the  lookout  at  the  masthead  cried  '  Sail  ho  '  a  second 
time.  On  applying  my  glass  in  the  direction  in 
dicated  from  aloft,  I  perceived  this  second  sail  to 
be  a  brig,  in  the  N.  E.,  standing  apparently  for 
Vera  Cruz  (she  did  afterward  run  between  the  inner 
Anegada  and  the  Blanquilla). 

"I  immediately  abandoned  my  intention  of  an 
choring,  as  the  gale  had  not  yet  set  in,  and  hauling 
on  a  wind  under  topsail  and  courses,  commenced 
beating  up  the  passage  a  second  time,  with  the  view 
of  placing  her  between  the  strange  ship  and  the  port, 
to  prevent  the  possibility  of  her  running  the  block 
ade  if  she  should  be  so  inclined.  I  made  one  tack 
toward  the  Paxaros  reef  and  at  the  time  of  the 
catastrophe  was  standing  on  the  larboard  tack,  with 
the  northern  point  of  Verde  Island  reef  a  couple  of 
points  on  my  lee-bow.  We  were  still  under  topsails, 
courses,  jib,  and  spanker ;  and  the  brig  did  not 
appear  to  be  too  much  pressed.  I  was  myself 
standing  on  the  lee-arm  chest,  having  just  passed 
over  from  the  weather  quarter,  and  with  my  spy 
glass  in  hand  was  observing  the  reef  on  our  lee-bow, 
to  see  whether  it  were  possible  to  weather  it  or  in 
the  event  of  our  not  being  able  to  do  this,  to  give 
timely  notice  to  the  officer  of  the  deck  to  tack 
ship.  I  had  not  been  long  in  this  position  before 
the  officer  of  the  deck,  Lieutenant  James  L.  Parker, 
the  second  lieutenant  of  the  brig,  remarked  to  me 
that  he  thought  it  looked  a  little  squally  to  the  wind 
ward.  I  immediately  passed  over  to  the  weather 
side  and  as  it  looked  a  little  darker  than  it  had 
done,  I  ordered  him  to  haul  up  the  mainsail  and 
brail  up  the  spanker,  and  directed  the  helm  to  be 


KEGULAK  SEEVICE  41 

put  up.  These  orders  were  promptly  obeyed.  Lieu 
tenant  Parker  took  the  mainsail  off  and  had  got 
the  spanker  about  half  brailed  up  when  the  squall 
struck  us.  It  did  not  appear  to  be  very  violent  nor 
was  its  approach  accompanied  by  any  foaming  of 
the  water  or  other  indications  which  usually  mark 
the  approach  of  heavy  squalls. 

"  But  the  brig  being  flying  light,  having  scarcely 
any  water  or  provisions,  and  but  six  tons  of  ballast 
on  board,  she  was  thrown  over  almost  instantly  so 
far  as  to  refuse  to  obey  her  helm — the  pressure  of 
the  water  on  the  lee-bow  rather  inclining  her  to  luff, 
seeing  which  I  directed  the  helm  to  be  put  down, 
hoping  that  I  might  luff  and  shake  the  wind  out  of 
her  sails  until  the  force  of  the  squall  should  be  spent. 
The  quartermaster  at  the  helm  had  hardly  time  to 
obey  this  order  before  the  brig  was  on  her  beam 
ends  and  the  water  pouring  into  every  hatch  and 
scuttle.  Being  now  convinced  that  she  must  speed 
ily  go  down  unless  relieved,  I  ordered  the  masts  to 
be  cut  away.  The  officers  and  men,  who  with  a  few 
exceptions  had  by  this  time  gained  the  weather 
bulwarks  of  the  vessel,  immediately  began  to  cut 
away  the  rigging.  But  as  this  was  a  forlorn  hope, 
the  brig  filling  very  fast  and  her  masts  and  yards 
lying  flat  upon  the  surface  of  the  sea,  I  placed  no 
reliance  whatever  upon  their  efforts.  A  few  mo 
ments  more  and  I  was  convinced  in  spite  of  all  our 
exertions  the  brig  must  inevitably  go  down.  I 
accordingly  turned  my  attention  to  the  saving  of  as 
many  lives  as  possible. 

"  The  boats  secured  in  the  gripes,  amidships,  and 
the  starboard  quarter  boat  were  already  several  feet 
under  water  so  that  it  was  impossible  to  reach  them  ; 
but  we  succeeded  in  disengaging  the  larboard  quarter 
boat  from  her  davits  (a  small  boat  pulling  five  oars) 


42  KAPHAEL  SEMMES 

and  dropped  her  fortunately  to  leeward  of  the  brig 
to  prevent  her  being  thrown  upon  the  vessel's  side 
and  crushed  by  the  sea.  I  ordered  Midshipman  F. 
G.  Clark  to  take  charge  of  this  boat,  and  with  the 
purser,  surgeon  and  seventeen  men,  make  for  Verde 
Island  if  possible  ;  and,  after  having  landed  all  but 
the  boat's  crew,  to  return  and  save  others.  It  was 
now  blowing  a  strong  gale,  with  a  heavy  sea  run 
ning,  and  I  deemed  it  imprudent  to  trust  more  men 
in  so  small  a  boat.  Beside,  I  was  anxious  to  shove 
her  off  before  the  vessel  should  sink  lest  there  might 
be  a  rush  for  her  and  no  life  at  all  be  saved.  I  can 
not  refrain  from  expressing  in  this  place  my  admira 
tion  of  the  noble  conduct  of  several  of  the  men 
embarked  in  the  boat,  who  implored  the  officers  by 
name  to  take  their  places  ;  saying  that  they  would 
willingly  die  by  the  wreck  if  the  officers  would  but 
save  themselves.  Of  course  none  of  these  generous 
fellows  were  permitted  to  come  out  and  they  were 
all  subsequently  safely  landed  as  they  deserved  to 
be.  Midshipman  Clark  fortunately  succeeded  in 
shoving  off  and  pulling  some  twenty  paces  from  the 
brig  before  she  went  down. 

"  When  she  was  on  the  point  of  sinking 
beneath  us  and  engulfing  us  in  the  waves,  I  gave 
the  order  i  Every  man  save  himself  who  can/  where 
upon  there  was  a  simultaneous  plunge  into  the  sea 
of  about  sixty  officers  and  men,  each  striving  to  se 
cure  some  frail  object  that  had  drifted  from  the  wreck 
for  the  purpose  of  sustaining  himself  in  the  awful 
struggle  with  the  sea,  which  awaited  him.  Some 
reached  a  grating,  some  an  oar,  some  a  boat's  mast, 
some  a  hen-coop  ;  but  many  poor  fellows  sprang  into 
the  sea  to  perish  in  a  few  minutes,  not  being  able  to 
find  any  object  of  support.  Lieutenant  Parker  and 
myself,  being  both  swimmers,  were  fortunate  enough 


BEGULAR  SEEVICE  43 

to  reach  one  of  the  arm  chests'  gratings  which 
afforded  us  partial  support,  but  on  which  we  should 
inevitably  have  been  drowned,  if  we  had  not  when 
we  had  swum  some  twenty  or  thirty  paces  secured 
an  upper  half  port  which  came  drifting  by  us.  We 
lashed  this  with  the  lanyards  attached  to  it  to  our 
grating,  and  thenceforth  got  along  much  better. 

"Midshipman  Clark  after  he  had  landed  the 
officers  and  men  under  his  charge  at  Yerde  Island 
shoved  off  a  second  time,  in  obedience  to  the  order 
I  had  given  him,  at  the  imminent  peril  of  his  life — 
for  the  gale  was  now  blowing  with  much  violence, 
and  the  sea  running  so  heavily  that  it  seemed  im 
possible  that  so  small  a  boat  could  live — and  skirted 
Verde  Island  reef  to  see  if  it  were  possible  to  rescue 
any  of  us  from  the  waves.  His  efforts  were  rewarded 
with  partial  success,  as  he  picked  up  Lieutenant 
Parker  and  myself  and  one  of  the  seamen.  As  soon 
as  I  had  landed  I  sent  Midshipman  Clark  out  again, 
who  ventured  as  far  from  the  island  as  he  thought 
the  boat  would  live ;  but  this  time  he  returned  un 
successful,  having  been  unable  to  descry  any  floating 
object  whatever.  Lieutenant  Claiborne  saved  him 
self  on  a  small  hatch  about  two  feet  square,  used  for 
covering  the  pump  well,  and  which  he  found  float 
ing  near  the  wreck.  He  was  thrown  with  great 
violence  against  a  reef  near  Sacrificios,  but  fortu 
nately  escaped  without  serious  injury.  As  strange 
as  it  may  appear  to  you,  there  cannot  have  elapsed 
more  than  ten  minutes  between  our  being  struck  by 
the  squall  and  the  total  disappearance  of  the 
Somers. 

u  I  feel  that  I  should  not  be  doing  justice  to  the 
officers  and  men  who  were  under  my  command,  if  I 
were  to  close  this  report  without  bearing  testimony 
to  their  uniform  coolness  and  self-possession  under 


44  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

the  trying  circumstances  in  which  we  were  placed  ; 
the  alacrity  with  which  they  obeyed  my  orders,  and 
when  all  was  over,  the  generosity  with  which  they 
behaved  toward  each  other  in  the  water  where  the 
struggle  was  one  of  life  and  death. 

"I  have  thus  concluded  what  I  have  to  say  in 
relation  to  the  cause  of  the  disaster  and  our  own  ex 
ertions  ;  but  with  heartfelt  acknowledgments  it  re 
mains  for  me  to  inform  you  of  the  gallant  and  feeling 
manner  in  which  all  the  foreign  men-of-war  lying  at 
Sacrificios  came  to  our  rescue.  They  hoisted  out  and 
manned  boats  immediately  and  at  the  hazard  of  their 
lives  put  out  toward  the  wreck.  They  were  at  first 
driven  back  by  the  violence  of  the  wind  and  sea,  but 
renewed  their  efforts  upon  the  first  lull,  and  had  the 
unhoped  for  satisfaction  of  saving  fourteen  more  of 
our  unfortunate  companions.7' 

Semmes  gave  the  names  of  foreign  boats  and 
captains  that  rendered  aid,  asked  for  a  Court  of 
Inquiry,  and  appended  lists  of  the  saved  and  lost  of 
his  own  crew.  The  formal  investigation  was  made, 
but  he  was  fully  exonerated  from  all  blame. 


CHAPTER  III 

IN  THE  MEXICAN  WAR 

SHORTLY  after  his  vindication  in  reference  to  the 
loss  of  the  Soiners,  Semmes  again  became  flag-lieu 
tenant  to  the  commodore,  Conner,  at  the  head  of 
the  fleet.  Scott,  having  planned  to  enter  the  coun 
try  through  Vera  Cruz,  made  a  descent  upon  that 
city  with  some  twelve  thousand  troops,  who  were 
landed  in  March,  1847,  near  the  city  with  the  aid 
of  the  vessels  of  war.  The  enemy  refusing  to  sur 
render,  it  was  necessary  to  bombard  his  fortifica 
tions  and  make  a  breach  in  them  for  a  storming 
party.  Scott's  guns  proving  too  light  for  this  heavy 
duty,  he  appealed  to  the  navy,  then  under  the  com 
mand  of  Commodore  M.  C.  Perry,  who  five  or  six 
years  afterward  led  the  famous  embassy  to  Japan. 
When  the  request  for  his  artillery  was  made,  "  the 
commodore's  courteous  and  gallant  reply,  couched 
in  Lacedeeinonian  brevity,  was  '  Certainly,  general, 
but  I  must  fight  them.'" 

Semmes  of  course  had  an  important  part  in  trans 
ferring  those  heavy  pieces  to  land,  mounting  them 
and  firing  them.  After  getting  his  battery  in  readi- 


46  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

ness,  the  night  before  his  deadly  work  was  to  start, 
Semmes'  spirit  was  so  raoved  by  the  historical  as 
sociations  and  by  reflections  on  the  circumstances, 
that  he  could  not  sleep  and  he  has  given  us  a  touch 
ing,  impressive  picture  of  the  occasion:  " About 
midnight  I  wandered  to  a  small  eminence  in  the 
neighborhood  of  our  battery  to  look  forth  upon  the 
scene.  It  was  perfectly  calm.  The  fleet  at  Sac- 
rificios  was  just  visible  through  the  gloom  and  was 
sleeping  quietly  at  its  anchors  without  other  sign  of 
life  than  a  solitary  light  burning  at  the  gaff- end  of 
the  commodore.  The  castle  of  San  Juan  d'  Ulloa, 
magnified  out  of  all  proportion  by  the  uncertain 
starlight  and  looking  ten  times  more  somber  and 
defiant  than  ever,  appeared  to  enjoy  equal  repose. 
Even  the  sea  seemed  to  have  gone  to  sleep  after  the 
turmoil  of  the  recent  norther,  as  the  only  sound  that 
reached  the  ear  from  that  direction  was  a  faint,  very 
faint,  murmur,  hoarse  and  plaintive  as  the  lazy 
swell,  with  scarcely  energy  enough  to  break, 
stranded  itself  on  the  beach.  The  cricket  and  the 
katydid  and  myriads  of  other  insects — the  South  is 
the  land  of  insects — chirruped  in  a  sort  of  inhar 
monious  melody  reminding  one  of  his  far-off  home 
and  of  fireside  scenes.  But  if  nature  was  thus  in 
clined  to  repose,  man  was  not,  for  death  still  held 


IN  THE  MEXICAN  WAE  47 

his  carnival  within  the  walls  of  the  beleaguered 
city.  Those  horrid  mortars  of  ours  were  in  awful 
activity.  The  demons  incarnate,  all  begrimed  with 
powder  and  smoke,  who  served  them  at  this  mid 
night  hour  .  .  .  gave  the  doomed  city  no 
respite,  not  even  for  a  single  moment,  as  the  air 
was  never  without  its  tenant  winging  its  way  on  its 
errand  of  death.  I  sat  and  watched  these  missiles 
for  an  hour  or  more,  and  I  shall  never  forget  the 
awful  scream  apparently  proceeding  from  female 
voices  which  came  ringing  on  the  night  air,  as  one 
of  those  terrible  engines  of  destruction  exploded- 
carrying  death  and  dismay  no  doubt  to  some  family 
circle.  No  sight  could  have  been  more  solemn  and 
impressive — the  imagination  dwelling  all  the  while 
on  the  awful  tragedy  which  was  being  enacted — 
than  the  flight  of  those  missiles  through  the  air." l 

All  were  astir  early  the  next  morning,  and  work 
ing  their  guns  with  coolness  and  precision,  but  soon 
"the  city  was  beaten  ;  and  on  the  same  afternoon 
we  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing  a  white  flag  pass 
into  General  Scott's  camp.77  The  navy  guns  had 
thrown  nearly  two  thousand  projectiles  into  the 
enemy's  quarters,  and  the  army  about  seven  or 
eight  hundred  more. 

1  "  Service  Afloat  and  Ashore,"  p.  137. 


48  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

Shortly  after  Semmes  was  engaged  in  an  expedi 
tion  against  Tuspapan,  on  a  river  of  that  name 
about  a  hundred  miles  northwest  of  Vera  Cruz. 
After  the  bombardment  of  the  place  a  small  detach 
ment  went  up  the  river  to  seize  any  boats  that  might 
be  found.  The  little  incident  furnishes  an  insight 
into  Semmes'  strict  ideas  of  discipline.  He  writes  : 
"  We  bivouacked  in  a  corn-field  as  the  night  set  in 
and  so  far  availed  ourselves  of  the  privileges  of  con 
quest  as  to  pluck  as  many  of  the  delicious  ears  of 
corn  just  then  in  the  milk  as  would  feed  our  tired 
and  famished  seamen,  who  had  been  pulling  their 
oars  unremittingly  for  the  last  six  or  eight  hours. 
The  owner  whom  we  had  hoped  to  conciliate  and 
make  some  trifling  present  to  absconded  like  the 
rest  upon  our  approach.  .  .  .  We  made  good 
use  of  the  old  woman's  gourd  full  of  eggs,  and  very 
nice  turkey  eggs  they  were,  but  molested  nothing 
else.  One  of  my  sailors  who  had  been  seized  with 
a  fancy  for  a  trade  took  down  from  a  peg  over  the 
bed  rather  a  nice  looking  sombrero — broad-rimmed 
straw  hat — and  trying  it  on  and  finding  it  to  fit  him 
had  hung  up  his  own  in  its  stead  ;  but  as  my  eye 
happened  to  fall  on  him  just  at  the  moment  I  made 
him  'swap  back/  as  the  boys  say.  He  defended 
himself  by  saying  that  he  meant  no  harm,  and 


IN  THE  MEXICAN  WAE  49 

that  a  fair  exchange  was  no  robbery  the  world 
over." 

Sernmes  now  ceased  further  connection  with  the 
navy  during  the  war,  as  he  was  selected  by  Com 
modore  Perry  to  bear  a  protest  from  the  President 
of  the  United  States  to  the  Mexican  government 
against  the  treatment  of  Passed  Midshipman  Kogers 
as  a  spy.  Eogers  while  under  Semmes  on  the 
Somers  had  been  captured  during  "a  daring  night 
reconnaissance  of  the  enemy's  powder  magazine  on 
the  mainland  near  the  little  island  of  Sacrificios." 
He  had  wanted  to  go  in  disguise,  but  Semmes  had 
required  him  to  wear  the  appropriate  uniform,  with 
a  pea-jacket  thrown  over  it  to  protect  himself  from 
the  night  air.  In  spite  of  this  precaution  he  was 
regarded  by  the  Mexicans  as  having  violated  the 
laws  of  war  and  was  kept  in  close  confinement. 
When  the  news  reached  the  United  States  much 
sympathy  was  aroused,  and  finally  Polk  took  the 
step  of  sending  a  special  messenger  to  Mexico. 

Semmes'  imagination  was  so  fired  with  the  pros 
pect  of  going  with  the  invading  force  to  visit  the 
"  Halls  of  the  Montezumas"  that  he  could  scarcely 
sleep.  On  the  invitation  of  the  commodore  he 
picked  out  an  attendant  from  the  sailors  whom  he 
afterward  humorously  referred  to  as  "my  personal 


50  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

staff."  Perry  instructed  him  to  overtake  the  army 
as  rapidly  as  he  could  with  safety,  and  then  be 
guided  by  Scott  as  to  the  best  means  of  discharging 
his  mission.  Perry  also  addressed  a  letter  to  Scott 
informing  him  of  the  nature  of  Semmes'  errand, 
and  asking  his  assistance  toward  carrying  out  the 
wishes  of  the  President. 

Semmes  was  provided  at  Vera  Cruz  with  horses 
and  traveling  necessaries,  and  an  escort  of  twenty 
men.  The  first  night  out  was  the  occasion  for  an 
adventure  that  tested  his  courage  and  determina 
tion.  He  was  in  the  house  of  the  alcalde  of  the 
village,  in  a  loft,  " jotting  down  by  the  dismal 
light  of  a  farthing  candle  stuck  in  its  own  grease 
on  the  top  of  an  ancient  chest  of  drawers  these 
veritable  memoirs  .  .  .  when  a  villain  stole 
one  of  my  revolvers  which  I  had  carelessly  laid 
down  on  a  bench.  With  the  assistance  of  the 
alcalde,  whom  I  had  summoned  from  the  kitchen 
fire  to  act  in  his  magisterial  capacity,  I  soon  got  on 
the  track  of  the  rogue,  however,  and  coming  upon 
him  just  as  he  had  fired  one  of  the  barrels  in  the 
road  to  see  how  he  liked  it,  I  seized  him  to  his  great 
astonishment — it  was  dark — and  made  him  deliver 
up.  I  am  sorry  to  add  that  the  scamp  was  one 
of  our  Anglo-Saxon  teamsters,  picked  up  perhaps 


IN  THE  MEXICAN  WAE  51 

somewhere  in  the  purlieus  of  the  bowery.  In  con 
sideration  of  his  blood  and  of  his  being  one  of  the 
heroes  of  Mexico,  I  released  him  from  other  penalty 
than  sharp  reprimand,  enjoining  him  to  remember 
for  the  future,  however,  his  long  and  honorable 
descent  all  the  way  from  the  Danish  pirates  who 
were  robbers  of  land  only.'7 

As  he  passed  on  his  way  his  eyes  were  open  and 
his  mind  alert  and  he  notes  matters  meteorological, 
sociological,  natural  phenomena  and  military  move 
ments  and  events,  but  nothing  occurred  affecting 
him  personally  or  his  own  immediate  actions  with 
regard  either  to  the  object  of  his  journey  or  his 
part  in  the  conflict,  until  he  reached  Jalapa,  the 
headquarters  of  Scott.  Of  course  Semnies  lost  no 
time  in  making  known  his  arrival  and  his  purpose, 
and  at  once  he  wrote  Scott : 

"I  understood  you  to  say  in  the  conversation  I 
had  the  honor  to  hold  with  you,  that  although  you 
had  no  escort  then  at  your  command,  with  which 
to  forward  me  to  the  city  of  Mexico,  in  the  execu 
tion  of  my  mission,  I  might  continue  with  the  army 
in  its  progress  ;  and  that  when  you  should  reach 
some  convenient  point,  near  the  city,  you  would 
either  put  me  in  personal  communication  with  the 
government,  or  send  forward  my  despatches.  I 
have  this  morning  been  waited  on  by  Lieutenant 
Williams,  your  aide-de-camp,  who  informs  me  on 
your  behalf  that  you  have  changed  your  resolution 


52  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

on  this  point,  and  that  you  will  not  permit  me  to 
hold  any  intercourse  with  the  Mexican  government. 

u  Commodore  Perry  has  been  charged  by  the 
President  of  the  United  States  to  make  a  communi 
cation  with  the  government  of  Mexico,  with  the 
nature  of  which  you  have  been  made  acquainted. 
He  has  selected  me  as  his  agent  to  carry  out  the 
views  of  the  President,  and  has  directed  me  to  ap 
ply  to  you  for  the  means  of  executing  his  orders. 
With  regard  to  the  question  as  to  who  is  the  proper 
channel  through  which  this  communication  is  to  be 
made,  I  can  of  course  have  nothing  to  say — that 
must  be  settled  by  higher  authority  ;  but  the  Presi 
dent  has  thought  proper  to  judge  of  this  for  himself, 
and  I  am  here  by  authority  of  one  of  the  Depart 
ments  (mediately)  as  his  humble  agent.  I  have 
specific  orders  from  my  commander-in-chief  to  place 
personally  (with  your  assistance)  my  despatch  in 
the  hands  of  the  minister  of  foreign  relations ;  or  if 
the  Mexican  government  will  not  permit  me  to  pro 
ceed  to  the  capital  in  person,  to  forward  it  by  some 
safe  conveyance  and  await  an  answer. 

"  My  object  in  addressing  you  this  note  is  to  en 
quire  whether  I  understand  you  as  deciding  that 
you  will  not  (at  your  convenience)  afford  me  the 
facilities  requested  of  you  by  Commodore  Perry ; 
and  that  you  will  not  permit  me  to  hold  any  inter 
course,  personal  or  otherwise,  with  the  Mexican 
government. 

"  If  this  be  your  decision,  as  a  military  man,  you 
must  see  the  propriety  of  giving  it  to  me  in  writing 
in  order  that  I  may  exhibit  it  to  my  commander-in- 
chief  as  a  sufficient  reason  for  failing  to  execute  his 
orders.  As  soon  as  I  receive  this  I  shall  hold  my 
self  in  readiness  to  return  to  the  squadron  by  the 
first  conveyance. 


IN  THE  MEXICAN  WAR  53 

"I  enclose  for  your  inspection  my  order  in  the 
premises  from  Commodore  Perry,  together  with  a 
copy  of  the  despatch  of  that  officer  to  the  Mexican 
government ;  from  which  you  will  be  able  to  see 
that  my  mission  cannot  have  in  the  remotest  degree 
any  bearing  upon  your  military  operations.  I  will 
be  obliged  to  you,  if  you  will  return  me  these  papers 
after  perusal." 


To  this  epistle  Scott  answered  in  a  longer  one  that 
he  had  information  that  Rogers  was  held  "as  an 
honorable  prisoner  of  war  at  large  on  parole  within 
the  city  of  Mexico,"  that  he  had  had  no  communi 
cation  with  the  Mexican  political  government,  "  if 
in  fact  there  be  any  government  in  the  country,'7 
that  he  was  ready  to  do  all  he  could  at  any  time  not 
only  for  Rogers  but  for  the  other  prisoners  held  by 
the  Mexicans,  that  perhaps  it  would  be  better  for 
Semmes  to  refer  the  business  to  the  other  "  func 
tionary  "  that  the  President  had  sent  from  "Wash 
ington  to  treat  with  the  Mexican  government,  that 
when  nearer  the  capital  he  might  "communicate 
officially  under  cover  of  a  flag  and  a  heavy  escort 
with  anybody  there  that  may  be  in  authority  on  the 
subject  of  prisoners  of  war  generally,77  and  that 
Semmes7  communication  might  go  forward  then. 
He  adds :  "In  the  meantime  you  can  remain  here, 
return  to  Commodore  Perry's  squadron,  or  advance 


54  KAPHAEL  SEMMES 

with  the  army  as  may  seem  to  you  best.  I  have  no 
advice  to  offer  on  the  subject. " 

To  Semmes  it  was  inexplicable  why  Scott  had 
made  no  effort  to  get  an  exchange  of  prisoners, 
some  of  whom  had  been  in  Mexican  hands  under 
harsh  treatment  for  several  months.  Scott  had  held 
unofficial  conversations  on  the  subject  with  Mexican 
representatives,  but  had  done  nothing  of  a  formal 
or  positive  nature,  though  he  had  had  a  chance 
in  Yera  Cruz  when  he  had  captured  five  thousand 
men,  whom,  he  had  released  on  parole  without  ask 
ing  for  any  Americans  in  return.  He  was,  besides, 
putting  himself  in  an  awkward  position  in  refusing 
to  allow  an  agent  of  the  President  to  take  up  the 
case  unless  through  him  (Scott).  Altogether  Scott 
"  manifested  a  most  unaccountable  apathy  with  re 
gard  to  their  exchange." 

But  Semmes  cheerfully  decided  to  abide  with 
the  army  and  see  what  he  could  of  Mexico.  He 
freely  rode  about  as  he  pleased,  since  the  natives 
had  learned  such  a  severe  lesson  that  they  did  not 
molest  parties  even  so  small  as  only  two  or  three. 

About  two  months  later,  July  llth,  Scott  took 
some  steps  to  aid  the  unfortunates  in  the  keeping  of 
the  Mexicans.  He  proposed  an  exchange  of  a  small 
number  of  officers  including  Eogers,  and  Semmes 


IN  THE  MEXICAN  WAR  55 

went  on  with  the  detachment  under  a  flag  of  truce. 
After  a  toilsome  ride  they  came  in  sight  of  Mexican 
pickets  who  scampered  away  at  a  lively  gait,  even 
though  under  command  of  two  generals,  one  of  whom 
had  been  president  of  Mexico  and  afterward  "  Pres 
ident  of  a  cockpit, "  when  his  civic  term  had  ex 
pired.  Finally  a  fleet  American  messenger  overtook 
them  and  was  informed  that  one  of  the  Generals,  the 
one  that  had  not  been  President,  would  meet  the 
American  representatives  the  next  morning  "to 
arrange  preliminaries"  for  an  interview, — and  all 
this  ceremony  when  the  Americans  had  counted  on 
finishing  the  whole  business  in  five  minutes. 

The  next  morning  at  the  appointed  time  and  place 
the  envoys  met  this  Mexican  general  himself,  "a 
good-looking  man,  rather  stout,  .  .  .  quite  dig 
nified  and  gentlemanlike  in  his  manners  .  .  . 
mounted  on  a  small  pony  .  .  .  not  well  dressed 
.  .  .  a  somewhat  villainous  expression  of  coun 
tenance.  .  .  .  After  a  mutual  salute  we  ex 
plained  to  him  briefly  our  business,  and  our  orders, 
if  permitted,  to  enter  the  city  of  Mexico  and  present 
our  despatches  in  person  to  the  president.  But  he 
politely  told  us  ...  no  officer  from  our  camp 
could  be  permitted  to  enter  the  city."  But  he 
would  forward  their  despatches  thither  safely. 


56  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

Much  as  they  wanted  to  get  a  view  of  the  famed 
spot — seven  or  eight  miles  farther  would  have  given 
that  boon — Semmes  and  his  brethren  were  obliged 
to  forego  that  pleasure  for  the  present.  Handing 
over  to  the  Mexican  their  despatches,  they  took 
leave  of  him  in  the  following  formal  manner  as 
Semmes  relates:  "It  is  hard  to  outdo  a  Mexican 
in  politeness,  but  Captain  Kearney  and  I  were  de 
termined  to  have  the  last  bow,  and  so  we  bowed  his 
generalship  half-way  back  to  his  lancers,  and  then, 
turning  our  horses7  heads,  with  another  bow,  we 
commenced  our  descent  to  where  we  had  halted  our 
troops."  A  dozen  years  later,  in  Washington,  we 
shall  see  Semmes  again  grimly  outdoing  a  rival  in 
ceremoniousuess,  in  the  parlor  of  a  noted  social 
leader. 

The  next  morning  he  was  back  in  Puebla,  after 
an  absence  of  a  little  over  two  days,  but  while  it 
was  an  agreeable  excursion  for  Semmes  it  was  boot 
less  for  poor  Eogers,  as  Santa  Anna  never  deigned 
"to  give  any  reply  to  General  Scott's  communica 
tion  until  we  had  given  him  another  licking."  But 
even  then  when  he  did  so  condescend,  there  was  no 
Eogers  in  his  keeping  to  make  mention  of,  as  that 
active  officer  had  escaped  and  made  his  way  to 
Scott's  headquarters,  reaching  there  early  in 


IN  THE  MEXICAN  WAR  57 

August,  a  little  over  a  fortnight  after  Semnies  had 
made  his  ride  out  to  the  Mexican  pickets. 

Semmes  was  now  at  liberty  to  retire  from  the 
hardships  and  dangers  of  the  advance,  but  the  pro 
fession  of  arms  was  too  dear  to  his  heart  for  him  to 
turn  his  back  on  such  a  chance.  ' '  I  had  no  thought, 
however,'7  he  says,  "  of  turning  to  the  squadron,  now 
that  we  were  on  the  eve  of  commencing  our  glorious 
campaign.  ...  I  had  an  excellent  excuse  too 
for  remaining  with  the  army,  as  our  communications 
with  Vera  Cruz  had  been  for  some  time  cut  off,  ex 
cept  as  they  were  occasionally  reopened  by  the  up 
ward  passage  to  us  of  reinforcements." 

Shortly  after,  he  was  appointed  an  aid  to  General 
W.  J.  Worth,  and  was  on  his  staff  to  the  end  of  the 
war.  In  this  capacity  naturally  he  had  but  little 
or  no  independence  of  movement  or  individuality 
of  decision  on  matters  affecting  events  of  any 
moment.  But  he  lost  no  chance  to  keep  up  with 
the  stratagems  of  the  armies,  and  to  record  the 
details.  He  was  an  able  advocate  of  Worth  in  the 
petty  squabble  that  broke  out  between  him  and 
Scott,  but  that  was  all  mainly  aside  from  Semmes* 
own  path,  and  it  is  unnecessary  to  deal  with  it  any 
further  here. 

He  also  studied  the  land, — the  mountains,  hills, 


58  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

passes,  roads, — all  with  the  purpose  of  the  soldier 
as  influencing  marches,  countermarches,  feints,  and 
diversions.  He  is  especially  explicit  in  describing 
the  military  points  of  the  valley  of  Mexico,  and 
comparing  the  American  expedition  and  its  difficul 
ties  with  that  other  foreign  inroad  over  three  cen 
turies  earlier  led  by  Cortez.  He  quotes  at  length 
from  the  personal  letters  of  that  wonderful  and 
brutal  Spanish  explorer  and  notes  errors  due  to 
enthusiasm.  He  also  identifies  features  in  that 
narrative  and  calculates  what  changes  in  marked 
instances  had  been  wrought  by  wind  and  water,  and 
the  other  forces  of  nature.  Armed  with  this  engi 
neering  knowledge,  he  freely  criticizes  the  tactics  of 
the  commanding  officers,  not  in  the  captious  tone  of 
ignorance  but  with  fairness  and  firmness.  Both 
Mexican  and  American  mistakes  are  handled  with 
this  impartiality. 

He  could  also  characterize  the  men  themselves,  as 
he  was  a  close  student  of  his  fellow  beings.  He 
catalogues  Scott's  qualities,  his  "  clear  head," 
" remarkable  memory,"  " excellent  heart,"  "his 
large  and  comprehensive  views  of  things,"  "supe 
rior  military  talents,"  "with  some  petulance  and 
irascibility  of  temperament"  and  "  a  little  egotism. " 
Worth  had  "  quickness  of  apprehension, n  "power 


IN  THE  MEXICAN  WAE  59 

of  combination,"  " ready  resource,"  "vivacity  of 
conversation,"  and  was  a  man  of  " acquirements 
and  of  general  reading. ' '  T wiggs  < i  has  a  frank  and 
open  countenance  that  at  once  bespeaks  his  character 
as  a  blunt  and  fearless  soldier. ' '  Quitman,  a  lawyer, 
4 'had  the  rare  tact  to  conciliate  the  regular  officers 
over  whose  head  he  was  appointed,"  and  was  "a 
zealous  amateur  soldier,"  in  love  with  his  new  pro 
fession. 

But  the  future  is  the  crucible  for  opinions.  In 
one  instance  at  least  Seinmes'  judgment  was  over 
whelmingly  endorsed  by  the  infallible  verdict  of 
experience.  He  gave  his  estimate  of  one  of  the 
engineers,  Captain  Lee,  whose  services  he  declared 
"were  invaluable  to  his  chief.  Endowed  with  a 
mind  which  has  no  superior  in  his  corps  and  possess 
ing  great  energy  of  character,  he  examined,  coun 
seled,  and  advised,  with  a  judgment,  tact,  and  discre 
tion  worthy  of  all  praise.  His  talent  for  topography 
was  peculiar,  and  he  seemed  to  receive  impressions 
intuitively  which  it  cost  other  men  much  labor  to 
acquire."  He  was  passing  judgment  upon  Eobert 
E.  Lee  eleven  years  before  Lee  took  command  of  the 
army  before  Eichmond. 

Semmes'  own  worth  was  weighed  by  his  superior, 
General  Worth,  and  of  course,  with  a  person  of  his 


60  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

keenness  of  observation,  his  ability  to  read  his 
comrades,  his  bearing  and  his  skill  of  expression, 
the  balance  had  to  be  favorable.  General  Worth  in 
at  least  three  despatches  in  the  latter  half  of  1847 
renders  strong  testimony  as  to  Semmes'  "  intelli 
gence  and  bravery,77  "habitual  gallantry,  intelli 
gence  and  devotion,"  and  once  in  a  more  formal 
manner  as  follows : 

"To  Lieutenant  Semmes  of  the  Navy,  volunteer 
aide-de-camp,  the  most  cordial  thanks  of  the  general 
of  the  division  are  tendered  for  his  uniform  gallantry 
and  assistance  ;  and  the  general-in-chief  is  respect 
fully  requested  to  present  the  conduct  of  this  accom 
plished  and  gallant  officer  to  the  special  notice  of 
the  chief  of  this  distinguished  branch  of  the  public 
service — our  glorious  Navy." 


CHAPTER  IV 

IMPRESSIONS    AND    INFLUENCES  OF    THE    MEXICAN 
WAR 

ASIDE  from  Semmes'  direct  share  in  this  struggle 
between  the  Saxon  and  Latin,  it  was  an  experience 
whose  formative  influences  had  their  part  in  his 
great  work  some  fifteen  years  later  and  also  in  the 
thrilling  story  that  he  wrote  in  later  life.  In  the 
incursion  southward  against  a  sister  republic  his 
rnind  was  trained  and  his  pen  sharpened  for  the 
coming  climax  of  his  career. 

The  work  and  the  moods  of  nature  constantly 
claimed  his  thoughts.  The  uprearing  masses,  the 
shapes  of  summits,  the  slopes,  the  valleys,  all  ap 
pealed  to  his  inner  being.  From  his  deck  afar  out 
he  never  tired  of  contemplating  the  giant  Orizaba, 
"rising  with  the  regularity  of  a  faultless  cone," 
though  seamed  and  scarred  by  avalanche  and  erosion. 
Subsequently,  on  the  expedition  to  the  capital,  one 
of  the  many  scenes  of  bewildering  grandeur  presented 
to  him  reminds  him  "  very  much  of  the  mountainous 
parts  of  Pennsylvania  except  that  it  was  much  more 
broken." 


62  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

Naturally  a  seaman  would  be  more  alert  to  the 
whims  of  the  weather  than  to  the  forms  of  the  solid 
crust  of  the  earth.  His  penetrating  mind  sought  to 
pierce  the  mystery  of  the  northers  that  rage  so  dev- 
astatingly  on  the  east  coast  of  Mexico  during  the 
winter,  or  dry,  season,  from  October  to  April.  He 
believed  them  caused  by  the  rush  of  cool  air,  made 
to  rise  by  the  rays  of  the  sun  heating  the  vast  plain 
lying  east  of  the  Eocky  Mountain  range.  Scientists 
nowadays  connect  these  gales  with  an  area  of  low 
pressure  in  the  Mississippi  basin,  though  Semrnes' 
theory  may  be  related  to  that. 

Again,  to  account  for  the  heavy  rainfall  in  Jalapa, 
he  reasoned  that  the  "  sea  breeze,  or  southeasterly 
winds  of  the  Gulf,  sweeping  over  the  arid  plains  of 
the  tierra  Caliente,  become  highly  rarefied,  or  charged 
with  moisture  ;  and  coming  here  first  in  contact  with 
the  mountains,  they  find  their  dew-point  at  about 
this  elevation.  Their  condensation  and  dispersion 
in  rain  is  of  course  the  consequence." 

The  result  of  natural  environment  on  men  did  not 
escape  his  investigating  spirit.  A  good  instance  is 
his  discussion  of  yellow  fever  in  Vera  Cruz.  He 
gives  an  acute  analysis  of  several  pages  and,  comes 
so  near  to  the  solution  of  the  problem  that  it  is 
almost  incredible  that  he  missed  it.  He  rejected 


IMPEESSIOKS  OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAB  63 

the  hypothesis  that  the  disease  is  due  to  heat 
alone,  or  to  any  special  winds,  or  to  rain  alone, 
but  to  a  combination  of  all  these  in  conjunc 
tion  with  certain  conditions  in  the  locality.  He 
discovered  around  the  city  many  "  stagnant  pools 
and  fens  with  a  vegetation  of  aquatic  shrubs  and 
plants.  These  decaying  from  year  to  year  have  de 
posited  along  the  margins  of  the  pools  a  rich  mould 
of  vegetable  matter  whence  have  sprung  up  thickets 
and  jungles.  It  is  easy  to  perceive  what  a  powerful 
effect  the  rays  of  a  vertical  sun  acting  in  these 
secluded  and  stagnant  valleys  upon  the  decaying 
leaves  and  plants  and  other  detritus  of  the  jungles, 
the  larvse  of  insects,  etc.,  must  produce  in  evolving 
malaria."  The  land  breezes  over  these  spots  waft 
the  poison  to  the  city  which,  being  surrounded  by  a 
high  wall,  is  hot  and  unsanitary.  When  he  named 
insects,  he  included  the  mosquito  which  in  this 
century  has  been  proved  to  be  the  bearer  of  this 
scourge  to  man.  He  saw  the  remedy  without 
realizing  the  source  of  the  trouble,  as  he  says  after 
the  Americans  cleaned  and  drained  the  city  there 
was  much  less  fever. 

He  had  the  artist's  eye  for  the  pleasing  or  pic 
turesque  in  the  landscape,  and  many  pen  cameos 
are  scattered  through  his  pages,  but  only  a  few  can 


64  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

appear  here.  Ou  leaviDg  Puebla  he  writes  this  im 
pression  of  the  scene : 

"  The  morning  was  bright  j  and  as  we  passed  out 
into  the  open  plain  all  nature  seemed  arrayed  in 
the  sweetest  smiles  of  summer — the  rains  had  now 
fertilized  the  earth — presenting  to  our  enchanted 
view  green  waving  fields  and  richly  carpeted 
meadows,  over  which  were  wafted  on  the  morning 
air  the  dewy  fragrance  of  the  young  grass  and  the 
perfume  of  shrub  and  flower." 

Later  on,  as  the  invading  band  climbs  to  the  top 
of  the  ridge,  he  catches  his  first  glimpse  of  "the 
great  valley  of  Mexico.  .  .  .  We  seemed  to  be 
looking  upon  an  immense  inland  sea  surrounded  by 
ranges  of  stupendous  mountains,  crested  by  snow 
and  the  clouds.  We  halted  the  column  for  rest  and 
refreshment,  and  to  give  all  an  opportunity  of  look 
ing  upon  the  promised  land.  The  fog  lifted  some 
what  as  we  commenced  our  descent,  but  still  the 
coup  <V  ceil  of  the  valley  disappointed  us  ;  not  in  its 
grandeur  and  extent,  but  from  the  description  of 
travelers  we  had  been  led  to  suppose  that  we  should 
be  able  to  take  in  all  the  details  of  the  panorama  at 
our  first  view,  which  is  not  the  case.'7 

It  was  not  only  nature  that  he  contemplated  ;  the 
status  of  the  human  family  also  engaged  his  atten- 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAR  65 

tion,  physical  as  well  as  sociological.  Especially 
was  he  susceptible  to  female  loveliness  and  he 
always  indicated  whether  the  women  were 
handsome  or  homely.  Of  the  Jalapa  women  he 
says: 

"  Jalapa  is  celebrated  for  its  pretty  women  ;  but 
it  cannot  compare  in  this  respect  with  any  town  of 
the  same  size  in  our  own  country.  .  .  .  They 
want  the  fairness  and  freshness  of  our  women.  To 
be  sure  their  soft  black  eyes  .  .  .  and  their 
hair  ...  are  beautiful  features,  but  nothing 
can  compensate  in  female  beauty  for  the  absence  of 
the  lily  and  the  rose."  He  granted  though  that 
they  were  "sprightly  in  conversation,  and  easy, 
and  eminently  graceful  in  manner/'  and  these 
charms  can  largely  make  up  for  deficiency  in  looks 
since  ' f  a  witty  and  graceful  woman  may  be  plain 
at  first  sight,  but  she  cannot  long  remain  plain. " 
He  remarked  also  that  "while  the  women  were  in 
general  sufficiently  robust  in  figure  and  well  devel 
oped,  the  men  were  puny  and  delicate  looking. 
Kobust  mothers  should  produce  robust  children, 
but  the  rule  does  not  seem  to  hold  good  in  Jalapa." 
He  evidently  wrote  "  children  "  for  "  sons.7' 

"No  women,"  he  continued,  "are  more  kind- 
hearted  or  more  full  of  the  amiable  sensibilities  of 


66  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

the  sex  than  the  Mexicans.  Perfectly  feminine  in 
character,  they  are  indeed  the  vine  to  cling  round 
the  oak  which  nature  designed  the  sex  to  be.  They 
would  be  shocked  at  the  idea  of  holding  public- 
meetings  or  discussing  in  open  forum  the  equal 
rights  of  women,  as  unsexed  females  sometimes  do 
in  other  countries."  1 

He  noticed  that  it  was  customary  for  them  to  ride 
astride,  which  was  odd  to  him,  though  he  accepted 
it  as  more  sensible  than  to  "  jeopard  the  lives  of  our 
women  whenever  we  put  them  on  horseback  merely 
for  the  sake  of  making  them  ride  differently  from 
the  men."  While  he  could  assent  to  this  prac 
tice,  and  could  even  tolerate  cigarette  smoking, 
he  drew  the  line  at  the  young  lady  in  a  dance 
asking  her  partner  for  the  spit-box ;  that  for  him 
destroyed  all  "  the  poetry  that  hangs  around  the 
sex." 

For  the  women  of  the  lower  class  he  had  only 
pity,  as  they  like  the  men  were  a  little  better  off 
than  the  beasts  they  drove.  "  In  the  bearing  of 
burdens  and  other  ofBces  of  drudgery  there  was  no 
difference  apparent  between  the  women  and  the 
men  ...  a  certain  evidence  that  they  had  not 
been  in  the  least  degree  refined  by  civilization. 
1  "Service  Afloat  and  Ashore,"  p.  269. 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAR  67 

.  .  .  Among  civilized  people,  there  is  a  marked 
distinction  between  the  kinds  of  labor  undertaken 
by  the  sexes  respectively.'7 

Industrially  matters  were  backward.  Mining 
was  mainly  carried  on  by  foreigners,  and  very  in 
effectively  by  them.  In  farming,  he  saw  "  the  man 
of  two  thousand  years  ago  turning  up  the  soil  with 
a  yoke  of  oxen,  and  with  the  identical  plow  de 
scribed  by  Virgil. "  Transportation  was  scarcely 
more  advanced.  Effort  had  been  made  to  foster 
manufacturing  of  cloth  through  a  high  tariff,  but 
the  agriculturist  clamored  for  a  bulwark  to  shield 
him  from  the  outsider  also  ;  hence  prices  for  both 
raw  and  finished  products  were  exorbitant.  A 
proper  tariff  might  be  a  benefit  to  the  people  be 
cause,  "  from  the  nature  and  configuration  of  the 
country, "  the  shipment  of  bulky  materials  was  too 
laborious  and  costly,  and  factories  could  be  estab 
lished  in  the  interior,  in  proximity  to  the  raw  ma 
terials  of  the  farm. 

One  topic  steadily  recurred  to  him — the  helots, 
Indians,  peons,  or  lowest  class  as  contrasted  with 
the  Southern  slaves.  On  this  same  stretch  of  the 
journey,  in  a  small  village,  he  was  struck  with  won 
der  at  the  "  miserable  huts  filled  with  an  indigent 
population;7'  "at  the  squalor  and  wretchedness 


68  RAPHAEL  SEMMES 

displayed  by  these  poor  people.  Princely  haciendas 
arose,  like  so  many  Italian  villas,  .  .  .  giving 
evidence  of  luxury  and  wealth,  .  .  .  while  the 
poor  helot  of  an  Indian,  the  hewer  of  wood  and 
drawer  of  water  .  .  .  scarcely  possessed  where 
with  to  cover  his  nakedness."1  "The  great  ma 
jority  of  Indian  laborers  on  the  large  haciendas  are 
in  a  much  worse  condition  than  the  slaves  of  our 
Southern  states."  Beyond  doubt,  he  declares,  the 
women  with  babies  "  are  in  an  infinitely  worse  con 
dition  than  the  female  slaves  on  our  own  Southern 
plantations,  who  have  masters  to  feed  and  take  care 
of  their  infants."  Finally  he  noted  that  "two  in 
telligent  slaves,  one  belonging  to  General  Worth, 
the  other  to  a  member  of  his  staff,"  used  frequently 
to  compare  exultingly  their  own  condition  with  that 
of  the  toiling  peons,  the  free  slaves,  by  whom  they 
were  surrounded.  They  preferred,  they  said,  to  be 
the  servants  of  gentlemen,  rather  than  consort  with 
u  poor  white  trash,"  and  especially  with  poor  u  In 
dian  trash."  How  much  Semmes  may  have  been 
influenced  by  these  observations  cannot  be  deter 
mined,  but  in  his  larger  book  on  the  Sumter  and 
Alabama  he  treats  slavery  as  a  contributory  cause 
of  secession.  There  is  absolutely  no  reason  to  sup- 
1  "Service  Afloat  and  Ashore,"  p.  233. 


IMPKESSIONS  OP  THE  MEXICAN  WAE  69 

pose  that  he  would  have  fought  only  to  preserve 
that  institution. 

In  more  direct  ways  than  general  observation  or 
style  of  expression  did  this  war  affect  Semines' 
views.  The  case  of  E.  W.  Moore  led  him  to  a  blunt 
denunciation  of  promotion  by  seniority  alone. 
Moore,  of  Virginia  birth,  first  a  midshipman,  then 
lieutenant  in  the  United  States  IsTavy,  resigned  in 
1836,  and  entered  the  service  of  the  republic  of 
Texas,  and  with  two  small  vessels  routed  the  Mexi 
can  fleet  of  ten  ships,  perhaps  doing  as  much  as 
Houston  in  achieving  Texan  independence.  Later 
he  wanted  to  return  to  his  former  allegiance  with 
his  Texas  rank,  but  the  navy  would  not  allow  this 
as  his  years  had  been  spent  abroad,  and  it  was  in 
sisted  that  those  who  remained  should  have  the 
higher  posts  by  right  of  seniority.  Semmes  con 
demned  the  view  "  that  a  man's  years,  and  not  his 
brains  should  be  the  test  of  promotion  and  employ 
ment."  Such  a  system  "  dampens  hope,  stifles 
talent,  cripples  energy  .  .  .  draws  no  distinc 
tion  between  excellence  and  mediocrity  but  reduces 
all  to  the  dull  and  stagnant  level  of  idleness  and 
consequent  ignorance  and  worthlessness. "  l 

Of  still  more  practical  use  to  him  in  after  years 
1  "  Service  Afloat  and  Ashore,"  p.  51. 


70  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

was  the  example  of  his  senior,  Commodore  Conner, 
in  passing  upon  the  prizes  made  in  war.  As  flag- 
lieutenant  Seinmes  had  every  facility  to  learn  the 
judicial  aspect  of  the  questions,  and  beyond  doubt 
he  absorbed  much  that  aided  him  in  the  cabin  of 
the  Alabama  to  solve  difficult  problems  of  inter 
national  usage.  Semmes  cordially  testifies  to  Con 
ner's  a  thorough  acquaintance  with  the  law  of 
prizes  and  his  discrimination  and  tact  in  disposing 
of  cases  presented  for  his  decision.77 

With  respect  to  another  feature  of  naval  warfare, 
this  war  helped  Semmes  in  the  clarification  of  his 
ideas,  namely,  the  principles  governing  privateer 
ing.  His  attitude  was  clean-cut  and  positive.  The 
Mexicans  wanted  to  adopt  this  mode  of  attack  upon 
American  commerce.  Semmes  frankly  admits  their 
right  in  accordance  with  the  practice  and  the  utter 
ance  of  civilized  nations  for  centuries.  As  a  policy, 
also,  he  contended,  it  was  sensible,  for  "this  sys 
tem  of  predatory  warfare  more  than  any  other 
equalizes  the  strength  of  nations  on  the  water.'7 
But  Mexico  "  had  no  materials  whereon  to  operate," 
as  she  had  neither  military  nor  commercial  marine. 
"  Under  the  law  of  nations  it  was  necessary  that  at 
least  a  majority  of  the  officers  and  crew  of  each 
cruiser  should  be  citizens.77  Otherwise  every  such 


IMPEESSIONS  OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAE  71 

vessel  would  be  a  pirate.  But,  lie  asserts,  even 
though  allowed  by  the  powers,  it  is  "a disreputable 
mode  of  warfare  under  any  circumstances."  Those 
engaged  in  it  are  fighting  more  for  plunder  than 
patriotism,  the  crews  are  composed  of  the  "  ad 
venturous  and  desperate  of  all  nations,"  and  it  is 
almost  "  impossible  that  any  discipline  can  be  estab 
lished  or  maintained  among  them  "  ;  in  fact  they 
are  little  better  than  "  licensed  pirates  "and  the 
system  should  be  suppressed  altogether.1 

Even  the  strongest  character  is  liable  to  shift  his 
point  of  view  when  his  own  ox  is  gored  by  his 
neighbor's  bull.  In  a  decade,  Semmes  was  warmly 
advising  privateering  as  a  wise  expedient  for  the 
South  in  the  imminent  Civil  War.  He  wrote  to  a 
congressman  from  that  section  :  "  You  ask  me  what 
I  mean  by  an  irregular  naval  force.  I  mean  a  well- 
organized  system  of  private  armed  ships  called 
privateers.  If  you  are  warred  upon  at  all,  it  will 
be  by  a  commercial  people,  whose  ability  to  do  you 
harm  will  consist  chiefly  in  ships  and  shipping.  It 
is  at  ships  and  shipping  therefore  that  you  must 
strike  ;  and  the  most  effectual  way  to  do  this  is  by 
means  of  the  irregular  force  of  which  I  speak.  Pri 
vate  cupidity  will  always  furnish  the  means  for  this 
1  "  Service  Afloat  and  Ashore,"  pp.  80-82. 


72  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

description  of  warfare,  and  all  that  will  be  required 
of  you  will  be  to  put  it  under  sufficient  legal  re 
straints  to  prevent  it  from  degenerating  into  piracy 
and  becoming  an  abuse.  .  .  .  You  could  have 
a  large  irregular  sea- force  .  .  .  which  could  be 
disbanded  without  further  care  or  expense  at  the 
end  of  the  war."  l  In  both  these  instances,  it  is  to 
be  remarked  that  Semmes  was  unqualifiedly  right 
as  to  international  law  providing  for  privateering, 
but  he  was  inconsistent  when  he  changed  his  belief 
as  to  the  international  morality  of  the  practice. 

Semmes  had  the  promptings  of  the  philosophical 
historian  and  realized  that  for  the  proper  valuation 
of  the  present  we  must  know  the  past.  He  adopted 
this  attitude  in  Mexico  and  unconsciously  widened 
his  own  vision. 

He  skilfully  pointed  out  that  the  key  to  the  right 
understanding  of  Mexican  affairs  was  the  transfer 
of  the  feudal  system  from  the  Old  World  to  Mexico 
by  the  Spanish  conquerors.  The  leaders  parceled 
out  the  territory  among  themselves  and  their  sub 
ordinates,  "and  along  with  those  lands  the  simple 
Indians  who  inhabited  them,"  while  the  Church  at 
the  same  time  came  into  possession  of  vast  tracts. 
Under  the  system  of  entail  these  private  holdings 
1  "  Sumter  and  Alabama,"  p.  92. 


IMPBESSI(XNTS  OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAE  73 

passed  from  father  to  son  and  built  up  an  aristocracy 
that,  leaving  their  estates  in  the  hands  of  agents, 
congregated  in  the  cities,  spent  "  their  incomes  in 
follies  and  frivolities,"  hung  around  the  court  of 
the  viceroy,  and  aided  in  upholding  "  the  despotism 
under  which  they  lived." 

Their  predial  partners,  the  clergy,  were  not  at  all 
alike  in  sentiment.  There  were  at  least  three  classes. 
The  higher  one,  the  bishops,  were  as  a  rule  "men  of 
exemplary  character.  Being  large  property  holders, 
occupying,  socially,  a  superior  position,  and  stand 
ing  at  the  head  of  a  provincial  hierarchy,  it  is  quite 
natural  that  they  should  be  eminently  conservative 
in  their  politics ;  their  conservation  running  some 
times  into  democracy."1  The  second  class  are 
mostly  natives,  with  only  limited  incomes,  doing  all 
the  drudgery  of  the  church,  jealous  of  "  the  enjoy 
ments  and  privileges  "  of  their  brethren  above  them, 
sharing  the  views  of  the  mass  around  them,  exercis 
ing  much  influence,  and  being  usually  "  good  re 
publicans."  The  remaining  division,  "  called  the 
regular  clergy,  consists  of  monks  of  the  various  re 
ligious  orders."  They  were  the  missionaries  of 
Mexico  to  propagate  Christianity  among  the  Indians. 
Having  been  superseded  in  this  function  by  the 
1  "Service  Afloat  and  Ashore,"  p.  14. 


74  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

curates,  they  have  become  "  a  separate  and  distinct 
organization,  .  .  .  having  little  or  no  sympathy 
with  the  mass  of  the  native  population.  .  .  . 
Being  possessed  of  considerable  revenues  they  lead 
a  life  of  indolence  and  ease.  .  .  .  They  are,  in 
consequence,  held  in  but  little  esteem,  and  exert  no 
influence  except  such  as  flows  naturally  from  their 
property.  ...  As  a  social  and  political  ele 
ment  they  are  of  but  little  weight." 

With  all  this  difference  of  attitude  toward  govern 
ment  and  society,  with  envy  over  the  gradations  of 
rank,  with  disparity  of  wealth  and  income,  with 
diversity  of  ideals,  all  painted  so  vividly,  Semmes7 
conclusion  that  "much  of  the  influence  the  clergy 
might  otherwise  exert  is  destroyed  by  neutralizing 
elements  existing  within  its  own  body  "  seems  un 
assailable. 

The  other  inhabitants,  five-sixths  of  the  total,  a 
class  without  property,  are  largely  a  "  mongrel 
stock,"  a  mixture  of  Indian  and  African  blood. 
They  form  almost  another  race,  having  but  slight 
affinity  with  the  ruling  class.  "  They  do  not  possess 
the  intelligence  of  the  Southern  negro, "  and  the  great 
majority  of  them  are  "servile  and  abject  in  the  ex 
treme,  devoid  of  intelligence  and  debased  in  morals." 
They  are  substantially  serfs  in  the  rural  regions, 


IMPEESSIONS  OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAE  75 

and  artisans  in  the  cities.  The  latter,  though  better 
paid,  remain  in  the  same  state  of  degradation, 
"imitating  the  depravity  of  the  upper  classes," 
having  the  vices  of  civilization  without  the  virtues. 
There  are  also  smaller  fractions, — miners,  burden- 
bearers,  and  vagabonds,  none  elevated  mentally,  all 
low  morally,  and  some  vicious  and  dangerous. 

In  this  unhappy  land  there  was  also  a  passion  for 
military  display  and  fame.  For  years  all  the  civil 
pursuits  were  neglected  and  then  despised  by  the 
ambitious,  during  the  turbulent  years  of  the  revolu 
tionary  era.  After  that  time  it  was  impossible  to 
settle  down  to  a  peaceful  existence  for  more  than  a 
short  while.  Commotion  followed  commotion,  due  to 
the  intrigues  and  disappointments  of  desperate  and 
defeated  leaders.  Every  upheaval  had  been  a  heavy 
cost  to  be  saddled  eventually  on  the  entire  structure. 
Debts  were  piled  up  and  taxation  became  a  deadly 
weight.  Eascality  and  graft  were  rampant,  since 
every  official  had  to  have  a  share  of  what  passed 
under  his  control. 

Semmes  tersely  concludes  that  "  two  distinct  races 
.  .  .  possess  the  soil ;  and  that  these  races  are 
divided  into  many  classes ;  of  very  different  degrees 
of  intelligence  ;  of  various  political  creeds ;  and  of 
many  and  conflicting  interests."  The  observer  of 


76  RAPHAEL  SEMMES 

the  scene  will  note  "a  union  of  Church  and  State 
...  an  unequal  division  of  property,  and  an  over 
weening  military  establishment.  As  a  consequence 
.  .  .  of  these  discordant  elements,  he  has  wit 
nessed  revolutions  and  civil  wars  ...  the 
wreck  of  the  public  prosperity  and  the  utter  de 
moralization  of  the  people  ...  a  decaying 
commerce  and  a  rude  state  of  agriculture  and  the 
arts  .  .  .  the  corruption  of  public  men  and  the 
general  absence  of  sincerity  and  good  faith  among 
the  masses. "  He  will  have  a  clue  to  "  unravel  the 
mystery  of  the  astonishing  defeats  of  the  Mexican 
army."1 

Keflectiug  upon  these  unlucky  circumstances  with 
reference  to  Mexico,  and  the  nearness  of  the  virile, 
aggressive  race  of  his  native  land,  Semmes  was  at 
this  stage  of  his  career  an  expansionist  of  the  most 
advanced  sort,  but  a  peaceful  one  if  possible.  He 
thought  that,  had  it  not  been  for  the  internal  dis 
sensions  in  Mexico  bringing  on  a  series  of  untoward 
political  events,  with  little  doubt,  "  harmony,  to  a 
greater  or  less  extent,  would  have  been  preserved ;  and 
probably,  in  a  generation  or  two,  the  radical  differ 
ences  of  the  two  races  would  entirely  have  disap 
peared  .  .  .  the  flaxen  hair  and  blue  eyes  of 

1  "  Service  Afloat  aud  Ashore,"  p.  40. 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAR  77 

the  Anglo-Saxon  taking  a  darker  shade,  and  more 
brilliant  light,  from  the  Hispauo-Americau.  We 
should  thus  have  conquered  Texas  .  .  .  and  ul 
timately  Mexico  .  .  .  as  Greece  conquered  Borne, 
by  civilization  and  the  arts,  instead  of  the  sword." 

Semmcs  relates  an  incident  of  the  war  that  doubt 
less  for  him  strengthened  the  foundation  of  his 
glittering  edifice  of  expansioii.  The  peninsula  of 
Yucatan  was  held  to  Mexico  by  very  loose  ties,  and 
setting  up  a  separate  government  she  sent  an  am 
bassador  to  Washington.  No  decision  was  reached 
as  to  the  international  status  of  the  new  state,  but  a 
squadron  of  vessels  took  possession  of  the  main  port 
and  held  it  until  peace  was  declared.  So  humanely 
were  the  inhabitants  treated  that  they  petitioned  the 
navy  to  direct  affairs  until  complete  tranquillity 
could  be  restored.  Semmes  himself  was  convinced 
that  if  the  United  States  had  entertained  the  desire 
to  annex  the  whole  peninsula  of  Yucatan,  there 
would  scarcely  have  been  a  dissenting  voice  among 
the  inhabitants.  Our  institutions  found  worthy 
representatives  in  our  naval  officers  ;  and  "  they 
became  as  popular  in  Yucatan  after  an  administra 
tion  of  eighteen  months  as  our  people  are  destined 
in  time  to  become  over  the  whole  American  con 
tinent.7' 


78  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

ID  keeping  with,  this  generosity  of  view,  Semmes 
did  not  find  the  cause  of  the  war  with  Mexico  to  lie 
in  the  l '  pretty  theater  of  events  on  which  the  fleet 
ing  generations  of  politicians  play  hide-and-seek. 
The  passage  of  our  race  into  Texas,  New  Mexico 
and  California  was  but  the  first  step  in  that  great 
movement  southward  which  forms  a  part  of  our 
destiny.  An  all-wise  Providence  has  placed  us  in 
juxtaposition  with  an  inferior  people,  in  order, 
without  doubt,  that  we  may  sweep  over  them,  and 
remove  them  (as  a  people)  and  their  worn-out 
institutions  from  the  face  of  the  earth.  We  are  the 
northern  hordes  of  the  Alani,  spreading  ourselves 
over  fairer  and  sunnier  fields,  and  carrying  along 
with  us,  besides  the  newness  of  life,  and  the  energy 
and  courage  of  our  prototypes,  letters,  arts,  and 
civilization. " 

This  idea  of  "manifest  destiny  "  is  down  deep  in 
Semmes'  soul,  and  later,  he  comes  to  the  same 
point  with  clear,  strong  language.  "  Time  with  his 
scythe  and  hour  glass  had  brought  another  and  a 
newer  race,  to  sweep  away  the  mouldered  and  moul 
dering  institutions  of  a  worn-out  people,  and  replace 
them  with  a  fresher  and  more  vigorous  civilization. 
The  descendant  of  the  Dane  and  the  Saxon,  with 
progress  inscribed  on  his  helmet,  had  come  to  sup- 


IMPKESSIONS  OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAB  79 

plant  the  never-changing  Visigoth  in  his  halls,  and 
to  claim  that  superiority  for  his  lineage  which  an 
all- wise  Providence  has  so  indelibly  stamped  upon 
it" 

In  these  prophetic  revelations  Semmes  may  have 
had  in  mind  the  dream  of  the  slavocrats,  of  getting 
room  4for  future  growth  so  as  to  maintain  a  balance 
between  the  slave  and  the  free  states,  but  he  hardly 
more  than  mentions  this  institution  throughout 
these  pages.  At  any  rate  his  sure  insight  is  matched 
by  that  of  one  of  America's  greatest  writers,  the 
dean  of  the  transcendental  school  of  literature, 
who  certainly  desired  no  blessing  for  the  South  in 
his  flash  of  inspiration.  Emerson,  in  New  England 
in  1844,  seven  years  before  the  date  of  Semmes' 
book,  penned  in  his  diary  :  "The  question  of  the 
annexation  of  Texas  is  one  of  those  which  look 
very  differently  to  the  centuries  and  to  the  years. 
It  is  very  certain  that  the  strong  British  race,  which 
have  now  overrun  so  much  of  this  continent,  must 
also  overrun  that  tract,  and  Mexico  and  Oregon 
also ;  and  it  will,  in  the  course  of  ages,  be  of  small 
import  by  what  particular  occasions  and  methods  it 
was  done. "  l 

It  was  neither  the  bluster  of  imperialism  nor  the 
1  Cabot,  "Memoirs  of  Emerson,"  Vol.  II,  p.  576. 


80  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

enthusiasm,  of  ignorance  that  actuated  Semmes  in 
these  deliverances  or  beliefs.  As  became  a  profound 
student  of  law,  municipal,  constitutional,  and  inter 
national,  Semmes  had  considered  the  possible  evil 
consequences  of  enlarging  our  domain,  and  he  was 
confident  that  the  political  vehicle  that  had  borne 
the  country  in  safety  thus  far  would  serenely  carry 
us  to  any  limits.  To  him  there  was  no  danger  of 
such  weakening  and  dissolution  as  befell  the  Eoman 
Empire  and  the  empires  of  Alexander  and  other 
eastern  leaders.  These  went  to  pieces  of  their  own 
weight  through  loss  of  cohesion  with  enlargement  of 
boundaries.  But  the  more  we  spread,  the  firmer 
our  bond  of  union.  They  were  based  on  centrality 
of  power,  while  we  thrive  on  the  federative  prin 
ciple.  With  them  "  extension  of  system  beyond 
certain  limits  is  unquestionably  death,"  but  with  us 
* '  extension  is  life.  For  while  the  Federal  executive 
power,  unlike  the  central  power  of  which  we  have 
been  speaking,  is  rather  strengthened  than  weakened 
by  the  extension,  the  individual  importance  of  the 
states  is  diminished.  Without  losing  any  portion 
of  their  qualified  sovereignty,  they  become  less 
capable,  either  single  or  in  combination  with  others, 
to  disturb  the  harmony  of  the  system.  In  the  old 
confederacy  of  thirteen,  New  York,  in  combination 


IMPEESSIONS  OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAB  81 

with  one  or  two  of  the  large  states,  could  effectually 
have  destroyed  the  smaller  ones;  but  where  the 
federative  system  shall  extend  over  fifty  or  a 
hundred  states,  there  can  be  no  empire  states  to 
exercise  a  predominating  influence  over  the  rest."  ' 
Seinmes  not  only  could  see  no  peril  in  widening 
our  borders,  but  he  said  that  u  the  salvation  of  our 
institutions  depends,  in  a  great  degree,  upon  a  rea 
sonable  extension  of  our  limits.  This  is  the  only 
thing  that  will  rob  faction  of  its  bitterness,  if  it  does 
not  entirely  destroy  it.  Fanaticism,  whether  re 
ligious,  political  or  social,  is  always  local ;  it  never 
spreads,  unless,  indeed,  it  be  spread  as  the  great 
Arabian  enthusiast  spread  his  faith,  by  the  sword. 
And  the  reason  it  does  not  spread  is  that  it  is  error  ; 
and  error,  although  it  may  be  contagious  in  small 
districts,  like  the  plague,  can  never  inundate  a  vast 
country. "  He  held  that  because  of  our  size,  stretch 
ing  from  ocean  to  ocean,  a  puny  outburst  of  discon 
tent  in  one  spot  was  dissipated  into  thin  vapor  be 
fore  it  could  affect  any  considerable  area.  Mas 
sachusetts  was  imposing  when  there  were  only  thir 
teen  commonwealths,  but  let  that  number  increase 
to  "thirty,  forty,  fifty,  or  a  hundred,"  and  her 
anger  or  resentment  is  powerless.  "Individual 
1  "Service  Afloat  and  Ashore,"  p.  474. 


82  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

states  will  become  less  and  less  important,  and  local 
jealousies  and  heart-burnings  will  scarcely  produce 
more  effect  upon  the  nation  at  large  than  does  the 
gossiping  of  a  remote  village  upon  a  metropolitan 
city.'7  Shay's  rebellion  in  Pennsylvania  and  the 
whiskey  trouble  in  Massachusetts  would  be  now  no 
more  than  "  tempests  in  a  teapot."  With  greater 
diversity  of  "climates,  productions  and  pursuits," 
there  will  be  more  motives  for  adhesion,  making 
all  more  dependent  on  each  other  and  binding  the 
whole  "  in  one  great  free-trades'  union."  With  the 
contemplation  of  the  beneficent  fruits  of  augmenta 
tion  on  the  federative  plan,  Semmes  is  not  only  a 
pronounced  nationalist,  but  he  becomes  a  world 
commercial]" st  and  forecasts  for  us  supremacy  in  the 
trade  of  the  earth.  "  Our  Pacific  front  opens  to  us, 
and  will  enable  us  to  monopolize,  almost  all  the 
commerce  of  the  East  Indies,  north  and  south. 
This  will  make  us  the  carriers  and  factors  of  the 
world.  Twenty  years  hence,  and  it  will  no  longer 
be  Britannia  but  America  rules  the  waves. "  1 

The   same  idea  had  filled  Semmes7   mind  when 
he  crossed  the  divide  between  the  two  oceans  on  his 
mission  to  propose  the  exchange  of  Passed  Midship 
man  Rogers.    He  first  saw  the  water  flowing  toward 
1  "  Service  Afloat  and  Ashore,"  p.  55. 


IMPRESSIONS  OF  THE  MEXICAN  WAR  83 

the  Pacific  and  "  many  were  the  reflections  to  which 
it  gave  rise.  Our  small  navy  on  that  side  of  the 
continent  under  the  lead  of  the  gallant  Commodore 
Stockton,  aided  by  Colonel  Fremont,  had  already 
added  the  Californias  to  our  vast  domain,  and  our 
flag  would  no  doubt  soon  encircle  the  globe  as  that 
of  the  greatest  commercial  nation  on  earth,  that 
same  flag  which  had  been  derided  scarce  forty  years 
before— in  the  War  of  1812— by  our  proud  ancestor 
over  the  water  as  a  "  i  bit  of  striped  bunting.'  " 

His  optimism  and  patriotism  made  the  future 
seem  bright  to  him.  Such  single-minded  devotion 
to  the  Union  blinded  the  eyes  of  the  prophet  and 
caused  his  predictions  to  be  so  wide  of  the  mark 
that  they  would  be  amusing  to  us,  if  they  did  not 
call  up  lamentable  emotions.  Writing  only  ten 
years  before  the  clash  of  arms,  he  detected  no  signs 
of  the  coming  storm.  Eeasoning  soundly  that  no 
one  state  could  seriously  jeopardize  the  other  states, 
it  did  not  occur  to  him  that  a  group  of  them,  with 
the  same  incentive,  could  imperil  the  entire  fabric. 
Fondly  anticipating  that  the  American  flag  would 
wave  over  the  "salt  blue  seas,"  it  is  a  tragedy  of 
the  imagination  that  in  fifteen  years  his  daring 
genius  was  to  be  in  the  van,  driving  that  emblem 
from  the  face  of  the  waters. 


CHAPTEE  V 

FEOM  THE  MEXICAN  TO  THE  CIVIL  WAR 

WITHOUT  a  glimmer  of  his  coming  destiny, 
Semmes  serenely  bore  aloft  that  insignia  that  he 
was  so  soon  fated  to  strike  down.  Daring  the  in 
terval  he  served  as  inspector,  commanded  the  Electra 
for  some  five  months,  and  also  the  Flirt  for  a  less 
time,  both  in  Southern  waters. 

It  was  on  the  latter  that  we  see  something  of  that 
determination  to  maintain  discipline  which  made 
him  complete  master  of  the  Alabama  in  the  presence 
of  a  heterogeneous  mass  of  reckless,  desperate  men, 
hailing  from  all  quarters  of  the  globe.  His  log  has 
many  entries  like  these:  " Punished  George  Mc- 
Gowan  with  one  dozen  of  the  cats  for  disorderly 
conduct  on  shore  and  James  Sergeant  with  the  same 
for  drunkenness."  " Punished  John  Travers  with 
nine  lashes  with  the  cats  for  refusing  to  obey  the 
surgeon's  steward  when  ordered  to  assist  a  sick 
messmate."  In  forty-two  days  he  administered  six 
teen  whippings  with  the  cats  ranging  from  two 
lashes  to  twelve,  besides  sentencing  to  irons  and 
double  irons. 


FEOM  MEXICAN  TO  CIVIL  WAE        85 

He  was  of  course  only  making  use  of  the  regular 
means  then  universally  employed  for  preserving 
order.  When  he  was  a  subordinate  several  years 
previous  on  the  Porpoise,  he  had  made  this  record  : 
"  At  9  : 10  called  all  hands  to  witness  punishment, 
and  punished  the  following  men,  by  order  of  Lieut- 
Commdg.  W.  E.  Hunt ;  John  Stone  (Bo.  Mate)  for 
drunkenness  and  insubordination,  six  lashes ;  Aus 
tin  Daniels  (quartermaster)  for  drunkenness  and 
insolence,  twelve  lashes ;  John  Smith  (Captain 
Cook)  drunkenness,  twelve  lashes;  Edward  B. 
Carmer  (yeoman)  for  drunkenness  and  fighting, 
twelve  lashes;  and  John  Walker  for  drunkenness 
and  fighting,  twelve  lashes — all  with  the  cats."  l 
This  method  of  restraining  offenders  was  abolished 
in  1850.  Semmes  made  his  world-startling  cruises 
in  the  Sumter  and  Alabama  without  resorting  to  this 
cruel  physical  device  to  hold  his  sway  over  the 
crew. 

After  leaving  the  Flirt  he  was  on  waiting  orders 
for  about  five  years,  which  he  spent  in  southern 
Alabama,  chiefly  in  Mobile,  enlarging  his  acquaint 
ance  with  the  law.  He  was  promoted  to  be  a  com 
mander  in  1855,  and  the  next  year  was  assigned  to 
lighthouse  work  in  which  service  he  continued  as 
1From  log  books  of  these  vessels  in  Navy  Department. 


86  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

inspector,  as  secretary,  and  as  member  of  the  Board 
till  his  resignation  from  the  navy  to  cast  his  for 
tunes  with  the  South  on  February  15,  1861. 

To  a  sincere  soul,  it  was  a  terrible  wrench  to  take 
this  step.  Considerations  of  selfishness  and  con 
siderations  of  sentiment  were  all  against  it.  If  he 
withdrew,  he  dropped  his  profession  which  was  his 
fortune  and  his  future.  His  family  was  dependent 
on  him.  If  he  remained  where  he  was,  he  was  sure 
of  a  competency  for  life,  and  he  could  count  on  pro 
motion  and  honors.  If  he  went  with  his  state,  he 
could  not  better  his  condition,  and  if  the  venture 
failed,  he  lost  all.  If  the  severance  of  these  eco 
nomic  bonds  cost  many  an  anguish,  it  was  still 
more  painful  to  break  the  ties  of  association  and 
comradeship.  Naval  officers  who  * l  had  been  rocked 
together  in  the  same  storm,  and  had  escaped  perhaps 
from  the  same  shipwreck,  found  it  very  difficult  to 
draw  their  swords  against  each  other. "  There  was, 
too,  a  cluster  of  the  tenderest  memories  around  the 
flag  which  represented  a  voluntary  union  of  sover 
eign  states,  built  on  the  principle  that  all  govern 
ment  should  rest  upon  the  consent  of  the  governed, 
but  now  it  was  to  be  the  emblem  for  coercing  un 
willing  states  "to  remain  under  a  government 
which  they  deemed  unjust  and  oppressive." 


FEOM  MEXICAN  TO  CIVIL  WAE       87 

But  all  those  various  emotions  Semmes  felt  could 
not  be  better  expressed  than  in  the  two  simple, 
dignified  letters  that  General  Lee  penned  when  he 
followed  Virginia  out  of  the  Union.  Semmes  in 
cludes  them  in  his  fascinating  story  of  the  Sumter 
and  Alabama.  But  the  inherent  regard  for  law  of 
the  bulk  of  Americans  was  in  Semmes'  case  strength 
ened  by  his  legal  training,  and  in  after  years  it 
prompted  him  to  a  keen  analysis,  historically  and 
constitutionally,  of  the  grounds  of  justification  of 
secession. 

To  him  "  the  judgment  which  posterity  will  form 
upon  our  actions  will  depend  mainly  upon  the 
answers  which  we  may  be  able  to  give  to  two  ques 
tions  :  First,  had  the  South  the  right  to  dissolve  the 
compact  of  government  under  which  it  had  lived 
with  the  North  ?  and  secondly,  was  there  sufficient 
reason  for  such  dissolution  ? ? '  The  act  of  revolu 
tion  had  no  part  in  the  discussion  because  it  is  in 
born  in  the  people  to  desert  a  rule  that  has  become 
too  aggressive  for  endurance.  But  with  the  South 
it  was  a  higher  right  they  exercised,  because  the 
states  had  formed  the  agreement  and  therefore  as 
sovereignties  they  could  unmake  it.  The  old  loose 
confederation  of  the  thirteen  colonies  was  by  the 
confession  of  all  formed  by  the  spontaneous  action 


88  BAPHAEL  SEMMES 

of  the  thirteen,  each  moving  independently.  When 
they  saw  that  organization  was  no  longer  useful, 
they  broke  it  up,  and  then  each,  on  its  own  incen 
tive,  adopted  the  present  Constitution  of  the  United 
States.  Or  as  Semmes  summed  it  up  :  "A  con 
vention  of  the  states  assembled  with  powers  only 
to  amend  the  Constitution  ;  instead  of  doing  which, 
it  abolished  the  old  form  of  government  altogether, 
and  recommended  a  new  one,  and  no  one  com 
plained.  As  each  state  formally  and  deliberately 
adopted  the  new  government,  it  as  formally  and 
deliberately  seceded  from  the  old  one  ;  and  yet  no 
one  heard  any  talk  of  a  breach  of  faith,  and  still 
less  of  treason." 

Bat  it  is  asserted  by  the  North  that  the  Constitu 
tion  of  the  United  States  "  is  a  very  different  thing 
from  the  Articles  of  Confederation.  It  was  formed, 
not  only  by  the  states,  but  by  the  people  of  the 
United  States  in  the  aggregate,  and  made  all  the 
states  one  people,  one  government.  It  is  not  a  com 
pact,  or  a  league,  between  the  states,  but  an  instru 
ment  under  which  they  have  surrendered  irrevocably 
their  sovereignty.  Under  it  the  Federal  govern 
ment  has  become  the  paramount  authority  and  the 
state  subordinate  to  it." 

Even  the  strongest  advocates  of  this  contention, 


FEOM  MEXICAN  TO  CIVIL  WAE        89 

Webster  and  Story,  frankly  admit  that  if  the  union 
of  the  states  was  a  compact  then  the  states  are 
wholly  justified  in  seceding  whenever  they  desire, 
even  though,  as  Webster  admits,  "it  might  be  one 
of  its  stipulations  that  it  should  be  perpetual." 

Of  course,  Semmes  says,  there  is  such  an  act  as  a 
state  merger,  in  which  a  state  gives  up  its  own  life 
and  is  absorbed  in  that  of  another,  and  in  such 
case  the  one  "parting  with  its  sovereignty  could 
never  reclaim  it  by  peaceable  means."  But  a  his 
torical  retrospect  shows  overwhelmingly  that  the 
states  had  no  intention  of  laying  aside  more  than  a 
portion  of  their  sovereignty,  which  they  delegated 
to  a  common  agent.  The  Journal  of  the  debates  in 
the  constitutional  convention  convinces  any  fair 
mind  how  jealous  all  were  to  guard  their  absolute 
power  of  action  except  the  fraction  they  intrusted 
to  the  central  authority.  So  scrupulous  were  they 
on  this  point  that  several  of  them  declared  their 
meaning  in  the  most  express  manner.  Both  sec 
tions  so  rigidly  insisted  on  this  that  the  tenth 
amendment  was  adopted  to  make  certain  that  all 
powers  except  those  enumerated  in  the  Constitution 
should  remain  with  the  states.  New  Hampshire, 
Massachusetts,  Pennsylvania,  Virginia,  and  North 
Carolina  occupied  substantially  the  same  ground. 


90  RAPHAEL  SEMMES 

Throughout  the  entire  movement  to  create  this  gen 
eral  authority,  it  was  the  states  that  took  each  step, 
and  not  the  people.  The  delegates  were  appointed 
and  empowered  by  the  states,  they  voted  always  by 
states,  and  their  labors  were  passed  upon  by  the 
states,  not  in  any  of  these  instances  by  the  people  as 
a  whole.  It  was  the  states  that  created  this  instru 
ment  supreme  so  far  as  its  terms  permit,  and  they 
can  destroy  it — "anyone  of  them  may  destroy  it 
as  to  herself ;  it  may  withdraw  from  the  compact  at 
pleasure,  with  or  without  reason. " 

But  the  opponents  argue  that  the  preamble 
reads,  "  We,  the  people  of  the  United  States,"  etc., 
thus  establishing  that  it  was  not  the  thirteen  sep 
arate  entities,  but  the  persons  inhabiting  this  land 
that  entered  into  the  compact.  To  Semmes  this  is 
the  merest  "  literary  quackery  and  legerdemain  of 
words, "  made  respectable  and  imposing  by  Webster 
and  Story,  who  practiced  in  good  faith  a  "  literary 
and  historical  fraud  "  upon  credulity  and  simplicity. 
Webster  is  more  responsible,  perhaps,  than  any 
other  man.  He  boldly  stated  "  in  his  celebrated 
speech  in  the  Senate,  in  1833,  in  reply  to  Mr. 
Calhoun  "  that  "  the  Constitution  itself,  in  its  very 
front,  declares  that  it  was  ordained  and  established 
by  the  people  of  the  United  States  in  the  aggregate. " 


FEOM  MEXICAN  TO  CIVIL  WAE        91 

This  has  been  the  foundation  of  all  the  Northern 
constitutional  lawyers,  but  "  unfortunately  for  him 
and  his  followers  he  has  misstated  a  fact ;  "  this  is 
not  true,  and  the  preamble  did  not  "mean  to  assert 
that  it  was  true.  The  great  names  of  Webster  and 
Story  have  been  lent  to  a  palpable  falsification  of 
history,  and  as  a  result  of  that  falsification,  a  great 
war  has  ensued,  which  has  sacrificed  its  hecatomb 
of  victims,  and  desolated  and  nearly  destroyed  an 
entire  people." 

But  we  must  strip  off  the  disguises  from  these 
"  word-mongers"  and  we  shall  get  at  the  truth. 
"  In  the  original  draft  of  the  Constitution,  the  states, 
by  name,  were  mentioned,  as  had  been  done  in  the 
Articles  of  Confederation.  The  states  had  formed 
the  old  confederation,  the  states  were  equally  form 
ing  the  new  confederation  ;  hence  the  convention 
naturally  followed  in  this  preamble  the  form  which 
had  been  set  them  in  the  old  Constitution,  or 
Articles.  This  preamble,  purporting  that  the  work 
of  forming  the  new  government  was  being  done  by 
the  states,  remained  at  the  head  of  the  instrument 
during  all  the  deliberations  of  the  convention,  and  no 
one  member  ever  objected  to  it.  It  expressed  a  fact 
which  no  one  thought  of  denying.  It  is  thus  a  fact 
beyond  question,  not  only  that  the  Constitution  was 


92  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

framed  by  the  states,  but  that  the  convention  so 
proclaimed  in  'front  of  the  instrument.'  ' 

It  is  thus  clear  enough  that  it  was  framed  by  the 
states,  but  was  it  adopted  by  them  or  by  the  people  f 
At  least  twice  in  the  convention  it  was  attempted  to 
have  the  matter  referred  to  a  convention  of  the 
entire  country  ;  but  there  was  not  even  a  second  for 
one  motion,  and  the  other  one  was  voted  down,  even 
though  it  was  fathered  by  Madison.  All  having 
agreed  that  the  instrument  should  be  referred  to  the 
states,  "  there  were  differences  of  opinion  as  to  how 
the  states  should  act  upon  it,"  whether  by  the  leg 
islature  of  each  state  or  whether  by  a  convention 
specially  called  in  each  state  ;  and  the  latter  view 
prevailed. 

When  the  document  was  finally  completed,  it  was 
handed  over  to  the  "  committee  on  style"  to  prune 
into  a  consistent  shape.  These  gentlemen  were 
instantly  confronted  with  the  problem  in  the  pre 
amble  of  the  thirteen  names.  It  was  impossible  to 
designate  those,  as  no  one  knew  how  many  would 
vote  for  the  ratification.  Nine  was  the  minimum 
number,  but  no  one  could  tell  which  they  would  be. 
Furthermore  it  had  been  already  determined  that 
the  states  should  speak  through  conventions  of  the 
people  and  not  through  legislatures  ;  it  was  expedient 


FEOM  MEXICAN  TO  CIVIL  WAR        93 

to  get  that  idea  in  the  revision  also.  To  meet 
these  two  new  demands  upon  the  phraseology  of  the 
instrument,  the  Committee  on  Style  adopted  the 
expression  :  "  We,  the  people  of  the  United  States,'7 
— meaning,  as  every  one  must  see,  "  We,  the  peo 
ple  of  the  several  states  united  by  this  instru 
ment." 

After  the  members  had  dispersed  to  their  homes, 
and  argument  against  their  labor  had  to  be  met, 
there  is  additional  testimony  that  the  preamble  did 
not  bear  the  construction  put  on  it  by  Webster  and 
his  followers.  There  was  hesitation  in  Virginia, 
and  violent  assaults  by  that  wonderful  orator,  Pat 
rick  Henry,  on  this  particular  phrase  at  the  begin 
ning  of  the  Constitution.  Madison,  who  has  been 
styled  the  Father  of  the  Constitution,  met  his  attack 
and  allayed  the  fears  by  declaring  that  the  parties 
to  the  Constitution  "  were  the  people,  not  the  people 
as  composing  one  great  society,  but  the  people  as 
composing  thirteen  sovereignties.  If  it  were  a  con 
solidated  government  the  assent  of  a  majority  of  the 
people  would  be  sufficient  to  establish  it.  But  it 
was  to  be  binding  on  the  people  of  a  state  only  by 
their  own  separate  consent."  After  this  calm 
assurance  there  was  nothing  to  be  done  by  Virginia 
except  to  adopt  the  instrument. 


94  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

But  another  stumbling-block  for  Webster's  inter 
pretation  is  Alexander  Hamilton,  who  did  not 
"  believe  much  in  republics  ;  aud  least  of  all  did  he 
believe  in  federal  republics."  He  knew  what  the 
states  wanted  and  he  knew  that  the  federal  form 
had  been  established.  His  evidence,  therefore,  is 
all  the  more  significant  because  he  is  "an  unwilling 
but  an  honest  witness."  In  the  Federalist  he  uses 
the  terms  "  the  compacts,"  "  concurrence  of  thirteen 
states,"  "  independent  states,"  and  "  parties  to  the 
compact ;  "  in  fact  "  he  speaks  only  of  states,  and  of 
compacts  to  be  made  by  states." 

To  Semmes  the  whole  trouble  between  the  North 
and  South  seemed  to  rest  upon  that  phrase  in  the 
preamble,  and  it  is  deserving  of  all  the  space  he  has 
given  it ;  but  this  recourse  to  contemporary  history 
was  scarcely  necessary,  because,  he  continues,  "the 
Constitution  itself  settles  the  whole  controversy." 
The  seventh  article  of  that  instrument  reads  as  fol 
lows  :  "  The  ratification  of  the  conventions  of  nine 
states  shall  be  sufficient  for  the  establishment  of  the 
Constitution  between  the  states  so  ratifying  the 
same."  The  Websterian  view  of  the  preamble  cer 
tainly  cannot  be  reconciled  with  this  "short,  ex 
plicit  and  unambiguous  provision,"  so  there  is  but 
one  conclusion  possible :  that  the  preamble  meant 


FEOM  MEXICAN  TO  CIVIL  WAE        95 

the  people  as  represented  in  the  state  conventions, 
rather  than  in  the  legislatures. 

It  is  thus  undeniable  that  at  the  beginning  of  the 
new  government,  all  understood  the  Constitution  as 
only  a  compact,  and  it  is  just  as  clear  that  this  view 
monopolized  the  political  field  for  forty  years. 
Thomas  Jefferson,  who  penned  the  Kentucky  Beso- 
lutions,  was  an  unmistakable  secessionist,  and  in 
the  first  of  that  famous  series  of  statements  styled 
the  Union  as  a  " compact"  of  limited  and  defined 
powers.  Further  on  he  said,  "as  in  all  cases  of 
compact  among  persons  having  no  common  judge, 
each  party  has  an  equal  right  to  judge  for  itself,  as 
well  of  infractions,  as  of  the  mode  and  measure  of 
redress."  After  John  Adams,  down  to  Jackson's 
day  all  parties  advocated  states'  rights. 

New  England  was  outspoken  in  defense  of  this 
tenet  of  faith.  Some  of  the  representatives  from 
that  section  were  bitterly  opposed  to  the  Louisiana 
Purchase,  regarding  it  as  really  a  dissolution  of  the 
Union.  Later,  in  the  War  of  1812,  the  discontent 
culminated  in  the  Hartford  Convention,  whose  jour 
nal  is  replete  with  "  sound  constitutional  doctrines," 
referring  to  the  government  of  the  country  as  a 
"compact"  between  the  states,  and  formally  de 
claring  that,  in  emergencies,  "states,  which  have 


96  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

no  common  umpire,  must  be  their  own  judges  and 
execute  their  own  decisions."  Then  why  did  this 
change  of  feeling  take  "  place  in  that  section, "  so 
that  those  two  giants,  Webster  and  Story,  under 
took  "the  herculean  task"  of  falsifying  all  the  his 
tory  of  the  preceding  forty  years  f  It  was  solely  on 
account  of  the  protective  tariff  which  was  to  touch 
that  group  of  states  with  the  "enchanter's  wand" 
and  make  it  "glad  with  the  music  of  the  spindle 
and  the  shuttle.77 

From  this  chain  of  reasoning  Semmes  could  see  no 
escape.  Hence  secession,  so  far  from  being  treason, 
was  a  sacred  duty  devolving  upon  a  state  when  her 
rights  were  infringed  upon.  The  government  was 
the  creature  of  the  states  and  had  absolutely  no 
powers  but  those  the  states  granted  it.  The  power 
of  secession  was  never  delegated  because  that  would 
have  been  a  merger  of  their  sovereignty,  and  for  no 
instant  did  they  ever  contemplate  such  suicide. 

Semmes  gathers  up  all  these  threads:  "I  have 
given  a  brief  outline  of  the  history  and  formation 
of  the  Federal  Constitution,  proving  by  abundant 
references  to  the  Fathers  and  to  the  instrument  it 
self  that  it  was  the  intention  of  the  former  to  draft 
and  that  they  did  draft  a  federal  compact  of  gov 
ernment,  which  compact  was  ordained  and  estab- 


FEOM  MEXICAN  TO  CIVIL  WAE        97 

lished  by  the  states  in  their  sovereign  capacity,  and 
not  by  the  people  of  the  United  States  in  the  aggre 
gate  as  one  nation.  It  resulted  from  this  statement 
of  the  question  that  the  states  had  the  legal  and 
constitutional  right  to  withdraw  from  the  compact 
at  pleasure  without  reference  to  any  cause  of  quar 
rel." 

But  having  this  inherent  right,  the  question  re 
mains  as  to  whether  the  South  had  sufficient  ground 
for  dissolving  the  connection.  There  were  four 
causes,  any  one  of  which  Semmes  holds  made  this 
separation  inevitable. 

First,  came  the  innate  dissimilarity  between  the 
people  of  the  Northern  and  Southern  states.  "  Vir 
ginia  and  Massachusetts  were  the  two  original  germs 
from  which  the  great  majority  of  the  American 
populations  had  sprung  ;  and  no  two  peoples,  speak 
ing  the  same  language  and  coming  from  the  same 
country,  could  have  been  more  dissimilar  in  educa 
tion,  taste,  and  habits,  and  even  in  natural  instincts, 
than  were  the  adventurers  that  settled  these  two 
colonies."  To  Virginia  came  the  "  gay  and  dash 
ing  cavaliers,"  the  element  that  afterward  espoused 
the  side  of  the  two  Charleses,  while  the  Massachu 
setts  immigrants  were  of  the  stock  from  which  were 
moulded  the  Praise-God  Barebones  Parliament  of 


98  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

Cromwell.  The  two  groups  seem  to  have  had  an 
instinctive  repugnance  to  one  another.  Each  at 
tracted  its  own  kind  from  the  mother  island,  and 
two  civilizations  slowly  unfolded. 

A  second  cause  is  closely  connected  with  the  first, 
namely,  natural  environment.  "The  two  countries 
were  different  in  climate  and  physical  features — the 
climate  of  the  one  being  cold  and  inhospitable  and 
its  soil  rugged  and  sterile,  whilst  the  climate  of  the 
other  was  soft  and  genial  and  its  soil  generous  and 
fruitful.  As  a  result  of  these  differences  of  climate 
and  soil,  the  pursuits  of  the  two  peoples  became 
different,  the  one  being  driven  to  the  ocean  and  the 
mechanic  arts  for  subsistence,  and  the  other  betak 
ing  itself  to  agriculture." 

A  third  impulse  came  from  the  tariff,  which,  be 
ginning  in  1816  with  incidental  protection,  soon 
rose  to  the  demand  of  "  protection  for  the  sake  of 
protection/'  It  was  simply  a  game  of  spoliation  so 
far  as  the  South  was  concerned.  This  "wholesale 
robbery"  worked  "by  the  simple  process  of  eter 
nally  taking  away  from  the  South  and  returning 
nothing  to  it."  Under  this  system  mortgages  were 
increasing  in  the  South,  and  the  planter  was  sink 
ing  to  the  status  of  a  mere  overseer  for  Northern 
merchants.  1?he  South  supplied  nearly  all  the  ex- 


FEOM  MEXICAN  TO  CIVIL  WAR        99 

portatious,  and  then  furnished  the  means  for  dot 
ting  "the  picturesque  hills  of  New  England  with 
costly  mansions. " 

A  fourth  cause  was  the  attitude  of  the  North  on 
the  subject  of  slavery,  not  on  moral  or  religious 
grounds,  but  because  the  institution  seemed  to  stand 
"  in  the  way  of  their  struggle  for  empire."  Under 
this  incitement  they  had  pushed  the  Missouri  Com 
promise  through  Congress  in  1820,  forbidding  sla 
very  north  of  a  certain  parallel,  a  palpable  wrong  to 
the  South  and  a  violation  of  the  Constitution.  Each 
section  had  as  much  right  in  the  territories  as  the 
other  and  it  was  a  discrimination  to  permit  the 
Northerner  to  take  his  property  there,  while  deny 
ing  that  privilege  to  the  Southerner.  Later,  toward 
the  middle  of  the  century,  this  injustice  had  been 
remedied  by  the  repeal  of  the  Compromise,  but  this 
step  was  very  distasteful  to  the  North,  as  it  was  not 
in  keeping  with  their  ideas  of  dominion  for  any 
more  slave  states  to  be  formed.  Matters  advanced 
further  when  the  Eepublican  party  convention  in 
serted  a  plank  in  their  platform  absolutely  forbid 
ding  slavery  in  the  territories. 

Allied  with  this,  and  possibly  of  a  still  more  dis 
turbing  nature,  was  the  persistent  refusal  of  the 
Northern  states  to  comply  with  the  terms  of  the 


100  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

Fugitive  Slave  Law,  and  return  runaways  to  their 
masters.  Even  Webster  had  roundly  condemned 
this  lapse  from  the  faith,  and  declared  that  "a  bar 
gain  broken  on  one  side  is  broken  on  all  sides." 
On  top  of  the  fierce  agitation  on  both  these  lines 
came  the  election  of  Lincoln,  aa  purely  geograph 
ical"  choice,  and  "tantamount  to  a  denial  of  the 
co-equality  of  the  Southern  states  with  the  Northern 
states  in  the  Union,  since  it  drove  the  former  out 
of  the  common  territories."  Still  some  of  the 
Southern  states  were  patient  and  hopeful,  and 
sought  to  ward  off  the  catastrophe  with  some  sort 
of  compromise,  but  Congress  treated  the  convention 
with  contempt.  The  "  Northern  faction,"  trium 
phant  in  both  houses,  "  was  arrayed  in  a  solid 
phalanx  of  hostility  to  the  South  and  could  not  be 
moved  an  inch."  The  Puritans,  "  rebels  when  in  a 
minority,  had  become  tyrants  now  when  in  a  ma 
jority."  The  South  could  only  take  up  the  gaunt 
let  which  had  been  thrown  at  her  feet. 

Such  is  a  brief  summary  of  the  long,  acute, 
analytical,  and  historical  argument  that  Senimes 
put  up  in  justification  of  secession.  In  places,  un 
consciously  to  himself,  his  feelings  override  his 
intention,  his  tone  takes  on  the  bitterness  of  many 
men  of  his  class,  and  he  becomes  illogical  or  iucon- 


FROM  MEXICAN  TO  CIVIL  WAR      101 

sistent.  In  one  place  he  says,  *  *  the  civilization  of 
the  North  was  coarse  and  practical,  that  of  the 
South  was  more  intellectual  and  refined,"  because 
the  North  had  neither  "the  requisite  leisure,  nor 
the  requisite  wealth,  to  bring  about  a  very  refined 
system  of  civilization ;"  yet  two  pages  farther  on  he 
laments  that  the  protective  tariff  was  impoverish 
ing  the  South  and  piling  up  Northern  opulence. 

As  to  difference  of  race  or  people  in  the  two 
sections,  one  Cavalier  and  the  other  Puritan,  here 
again,  instead  of  following  his  own  independent 
judgment,  he  accepted  the  current  utterances. 
Puritanism  is  a  matter  of  temperament,  not  of 
geography  or  of  blood.  If  for  a  moment  he  had 
considered  Stonewall  Jackson,  whom  he  much  ad 
mired,  he  would  have  seen  that  this  type  was 
developed  South  as  well  as  North.  Still  he  is  not 
too  much  to  blame  in  this  connection,  as  only  of 
late  years  has  there  been  a  thorough  demolition 
of  this  colonial  myth. 

Aside  from  such  errors,  though,  Semmes'  stand 
that  historically  secession  was  entirely  right  is  im 
pregnable.  At  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the 
Constitution  and  for  about  a  score  of  years  after 
ward,  it  was  in  all  men's  minds  that  it  was  the 
work  of  the  sovereign  states  and  that  each  state  was 


102  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

at  perfect  liberty  under  the  scheme  to  withdraw  at 
any  time  she  chose.  This  is  unqualifiedly  admitted 
at  present  by  investigators  of  the  first  rank.  It  is 
necessary  to  quote  only  one.  Senator  Henry  Cabot 
Lodge,  from  Massachusetts,  in  his  biography  of 
Webster,  in  discussing  the  famous  reply  to  Hayue, 
says  :  "  When  the  Constitution  was  adopted  by  the 
votes  of  states  at  Philadelphia,  and  accepted  by  the 
votes  of  states  in  popular  conventions,  it  is  safe  to 
say  that  there  was  not  a  man  in  the  country,  from 
Washington  and  Hamilton  on  the  one  side  to  George 
Clinton  and  George  Mason  on  the  other,  who  re 
garded  the  new  system  as  anything  but  an  experi 
ment  entered  upon  by  the  states  and  from  which  each 
and  every  state  had  the  right  peaceably  to  withdraw, 
a  right  which  was  very  likely  to  be  exercised."  l 

Of  course  the  sad,  awful  mistake  of  Semmes  and 
other  keen  thinkers  along  this  line  was  the  failure 
to  see  that  all  the  conditions  had  been  transformed 
during  those  three-score  years.  A  secession  at  the 
start  would  have  been  hardly  more  than  for  a  man  to 
cast  off  a  glove  from  his  right  hand,  but  a  secession 
in  1860  was  the  amputation  of  the  whole  arm.  It 
was  only  natural  that  the  patient  should  object,  and 
that  the  logical  fallacy  should  be  atoned  for  in  blood. 
1  Page  176. 


CHAPTER  VI 

GETTING  OFF  WITH  THE  "  SUMTEB  " 

FAITHFUL  to  the  states'  rights  dogma,  wedded  to 
the  secession  theory,  fortified  with  the  historical 
argument,  the  South  sprang  to  the  conflict  with  the 
most  abounding  confidence.  They  had  no  doubt 
as  to  the  justice  of  their  cause,  they  had  no  fear  as 
to  the  outcome.  Materially  and  humanly  the  odds 
seemed  all  against  them,  but  they  did  not  stop  to 
balance  chances.  Their  spirits  were  afire,  and  they 
scorned  the  deductions  from  the  facts  or  the  teach 
ings  from  the  figures.  It  mattered  not  to  them 
that  all  the  apparatus  of  government  remained  in 
the  hands  of  their  opponents,  that  all  the  munitions 
of  war  were  in  the  same  possession,  that  virtually 
all  the  mills  were  in  the  same  quarter. 

In  the  South  were  two  shipyards,  at  Norfolk  and 
Peusacola,  both  soon  to  be  lost.  There  were  three 
rolling  mills,  one  in  Alabama,  and  two  in  Tennes 
see.  The  one  foundry  for  heavy  work  was  in  Rich 
mond.  A  little  machinery,  insignificant  smelting 
works,  scattered  factories,  comprised  the  remainder 


104  EAPHAEL  8EMMES 

of  the  mechanical  equipment  that  the  South  had  at 
hand  to  achieve  her  Titanic  task.  Nor  had  she  the 
trained  men  to  handle  any  larger  equipment.  Be 
sides,  the  small  number  she  had  were  liable  to  be 
drafted  for  the  field. 

On  the  human  side,  she  was  filled  with  a  popula 
tion  enthusiastic  for  laud  warfare,  but  for  fighting 
upon  the  water  there  was  no  sailor  constituency 
except  the  few  thousands  in  the  river  and  coastwise 
service.  Of  trained  leaders  for  these,  the  dearth 
was  painful,  beyond  the  occasional  officers  bred  in 
the  United  States  Navy  that  followed  their  states  in 
spite  of  the  pangs  it  caused  them  to  do  so. 

With  the  lumber  standing  in  the  forests,  with  the 
minerals  underground,  the  prospect  would  have 
appalled  any  but  the  stoutest  heart,  yet  a  navy  was 
built  that  did  valiant  deeds.  In  the  coastal  cities 
and  along  the  rivers,  the  clang  of  the  hammers  and 
the  whirring  of  wheels  were  soon  heard  ;  consider 
ing  the  odds  against  them,  the  Navy  Department 
rapidly  launched  all  sorts  of  craft,  rams,  cruisers, 
side- wheelers,  propellers,  and  in  time  iron- dads. 
In  the  last  class,  the  Merrimac  helped  to  point  the 
path  toward  metal  vessels  for  all  the  world.  In 
submarines,  the  Confederacy  gave  an  instance  of 
effective  action — the  sinking  of  the  U.  S.  Housatonic 


GETTING  OFF  WITH  THE  "SUMTEE"    105 

in  the  harbor  of  Charleston,  S.  C.,  by  one  of  these 
submerged  agents. 

The  disparity  between  the  foes  was  preponderating 
at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  and  became  still  greater 
with  the  years.  The  authorities  at  Washington 
began  the  conflict  with  nearly  a  hundred  boats,  1,500 
officers,  7,500  seamen,  and  closed  with  about  600 
vessels,  9,000  officers  and  over  50,000  seamen.  The 
Confederacy  began  with  almost  nothing  in  all  these 
respects. 

None  more  clearly  than  Senirnes  knew  all  these 
drawbacks,  none  more  accurately  noted  these  defi 
ciencies,  but  none  more  unfalteringly  chose  the  line  of 
duty  as  he  saw  it.  Early  in  1861,  he  had  made 
up  his  mind,  and  there  was  a  test  of  his  staying 
power  one  evening  when  he  called  on  one  of  the 
Alabama  senators  to  announce  his  decision.  A 
brother  officer  was  there,  also  Southern,  but  Sernmes, 
not  knowing  what  his  sentiments  were,  could  not 
speak  of  his  purpose  until  the  other  had  left.  He 
seemed  to  want  to  outsit  Semnies,  and  both  remained 
till  midnight,  when  the  other  got  weary  of  the 
waiting  and  left.1 

On  February  14,  1861,  as  he  was  seated  in  his 
family  circle  in  Washington,  a  telegram  came  re- 

1  "  Belle  of  the  Fifties,"  p.  144. 


106  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

questing  his  presence  in  Montgomery  for  consultation 
with  the  Committee  on  Naval  Affairs.  In  a  few 
minutes  his  reply  was  flashed  back  that  he  would 
come  at  once.  The  next  day  with  all  formality  and 
courtesy  he  sent  in  his  resignation  from  the  Navy 
and  from  the  Lighthouse  Board.  The  same  day 
came  to  him  the  acceptance  of  the  first,  but  no 
notice  ever  reached  him  as  to  the  second  because,  as 
he  concluded,  two  of  the  other  members  were  from 
the  South  but  were  "too  loyal  to  their  places  to 
follow  the  lead  of  their  states.'7  It  was  a  matter  of 
pride  with  him  that  all  these  steps  were  taken  so 
openly  and  frankly,  with  no  concealment  whatever, 
and  hence  subsequent  talk  of  treason  and  desertion 
was  wholly  baseless. 

But  a  man  with  his  depth  of  conviction,  with  his 
power  of  reflection,  could  hardly  turn  aside  from, 
the  course  that  he  had  pursued  for  a  third  of  a 
century,  without  being  stirred  to  his  heart's 
core.  His  feelings  reached  a  climax  the  night 
before  he  got  to  his  destination,  as  the  train  rolled 
through  a  burning  forest.  The  blaze  and  the 
occasion  and  the  place  all  conspired  to  influence 
his  reveries  : — "  The  pine  woods  were  on  fire  as  we 
passed  through  them,  the  flames  now  and  then  run 
ning  up  a  lightwood  tree,  and  throwing  a  weird  and 


GETTING  OFF  WITH  THE  "SUMTER"    107 

fitful  glare  upon  the  passing  train.  The  scene  was 
peculiarly  Southern  and  reminded  ine  that  I  was 
drawing  near  iny  home  and  my  people,  and  I  mechan 
ically  repeated  to  myself  the  words  of  the  poet : 

"  '  Breathes  there  a  man  with  soul  so  dead 
Who  never  to  himself  hath  said 
This  is  niy  own,  my  native  laud.' 

And  my  heart,  which  up  to  that  moment  had  felt 
as  though  a  heavy  weight  were  pressing  upon  it, 
began  to  give  more  vigorous  beats  and  send  a  more 
inspiring  current  through  my  veins.  Under  this 
happy  influence,  I  sank,  as  the  night  advanced  and 
the  train  thundered  on,  into  the  first  sound  sleep 
which  had  visited  my  weary  eyelids  since  I  had 
resigned  my  commission.  .  .  .  This  night  ride 
through  the  burning  pine  woods  of  Alabama  after 
ward  stood  as  a  great  gulf  in  my  memory,  forming 
an  impassable  barrier,  as  it  were,  between  my  past 
and  my  future  life.  .  .  .  When  I  washed  and 
dressed  for  breakfast  in  Montgomery  the  next  morn 
ing  I  had  put  off  the  old  man  and  put  on  the  new. 
The  labors  and  associations  of  a  lifetime  had  been 
inscribed  in  a  volume  which  had  been  closed,  and  a 
new  book,  whose  pages  were  as  yet  all  blank,  had 
been  opened." 
But  Semmes'  dreams  never  interfered  with  his 


108  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

activities  ;  they  apparently  gave  him  extra  onset. 
The  committee  got  his  views,  and  later  Davis,  the 
provisional  president,  chose  him  for  an  important 
errand  northward.  There  was  outlined  for  him 
onerous  and  grave  work, — to  purchase  machinery 
and  munitions,  arms  and  powder,  learn  processes, 
gather  information,  and  secure  skilled  labor.  As 
Seinmes  doubtless  explained  to  Davis,  the  South 
did  not  have  even  enough  percussion  caps  to  fight 
one  battle. 

He  was  soon  back  in  Washington,  visiting  the 
arsenal,  and  conferring  with  mechanics.  He  saw 
the  crowds  on  Pennsylvania  Avenue  witnessing  the 
inaugural  procession,  but  he  delayed  not,  continued 
to  New  York  and  made  a  tour  of  the  chief  work 
shops  in  that  state,  Connecticut,  and  Massachu 
setts.  There  were  no  obstacles  before  his  feet ;  all 
were  ready  to  receive  him  and  to  sell  to  him  all  he 
cared  to  pay  cash  for.  Further  responsibility  was 
placed  upon  him  by  instructions  from  the  Con 
federate  Secretary  of  the  Navy  to  search  for  steam 
ers  strong  enough  to  carry  at  least  one  gun,  but  of 
draft  light  enough  to  navigate  shallow  coastal 
waters,  and  to  do  this  without  exciting  suspicion. 
He  was  not  able  to  find  any,  though  he  diligently 
looked  through  the  New  York  harbor. 


GETTING  OFF  WITH  THE  "SUMTER"    109 

The  skies  were  now  getting  portentous,  and  he 
took  passage  for  a  Southern  port  and  arrived  in 
Montgomery  early  in  April,  to  be  put  in  charge 
of  the  Lighthouse  Bureau.  Scarcely  had  he  ap 
pointed  some  clerks  and  opened  a  set  of  books, 
when  Suinter  was  fired  upon,  and  the  whole  laud, 
both  sides,  burst  into  war  flame.  He  was  not  the 
man  to  sit  at  a  desk  when  he  could  wield  a  sword  in 
defense  of  his  principles  and  of  his  state.  At  his 
age  of  fifty-two,  he  knew  he  had  passed  the  prime 
of  physical  life,  but  his  constitution  was  still  unim 
paired.  He  instantly  expressed  a  desire  to  go  to 
sea  and  harass  the  enemy's  commerce,  and  thus 
weaken  him  at  a  vital  point,  since  "  wealth  is  neces 
sary  to  the  conduct  of  all  modern  wars."  There 
was  a  phalanx  of  merchant  sail  second  only  to  Great 
Britain's  in  magnitude  and  importance.  Semmes 
had  his  eye  on  this  mighty  fleet. 

In  the  interview  with  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
S.  E.  Mallory,  Semmes  enlarged  upon  his  favorite 
theory  of  attacking  the  foe,  and  received  the  en 
dorsement  of  his  superior.  But  the  trouble  was  to 
get  the  right  sort  of  boat  for  that  venture.  A  board 
of  naval  experts  was  already  examining  various 
ships,  but  could  make  only  discouraging  reports, 
and  the  Secretary  handed  him  one  that  had  come 


110  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

in  that  morning.  Seinmes  read  the  description  of  a 
"small  propeller  steamer,  of  five  hundred  tons7 
burthen,  seagoing,  with  a  low-pressure  engine, 
sound  and  capable  of  being  so  strengthened  as  to 
be  able  to  carry  an  ordinary  battery  of  four  or  five 
guns,"  with  a  speed  of  nine  or  ten  knots,  but  space 
for  only  five  days'  fuel,  without  "  accommodations 
for  the  crew  of  a  ship  of  war. "  Although  Sernrnes 
saw  she  had  been  condemned,  he  said  to  the  Secre 
tary  :  "  Give  me  that  ship  ;  I  think  I  can  make  her 
answer  the  purpose.5' 

It  was  done,  and  in  this  quick,  decisive  manner 
did  Eaphael  Semnies  make  the  decision  that  was 
finally  to  write  his  name  high  among  the  world's 
naval  heroes  of  all  time.  Thus  was  chosen  the 
Sumter,  the  first  "  ship  of  war  "  to  fly  the  new  Con 
federate  flag  on  the  high  seas. 

The  next  day  Semnies'  orders  were  handed  him ; 
that  afternoon,  after  bidding  his  official  associates 
farewell,  he  embarked  for  Mobile,  and  on  the  fourth 
day  he  was  in  New  Orleans, — truly,  for  dashing 
movement,  a  Stonewall  Jackson  of  the  seas. 

In  another  way  he  was  similar  to  Jackson.  Both 
showed  qualities  and  resources  that  their  associates 
for  years  had  never  discovered  a  trace  of.  Semmes' 
daring,  his  skill,  his  energy,  were  all  a  marvel 


GETTING  OFF  WITH  THE  "SUMTEB"    111 

to  his  former  colleagues.  According  to  Admiral 
Porter,  who  on  the  other  side  had  such  notable 
achievements  to  his  credit,  Semmes,  in  the  old 
navy,  "had  little  reputation  as  an  officer.  He  had 
no  particular  taste  for  his  profession,  but  had  a 
fondness  for  literature,  and  was  a  good  talker  and 
writer.  .  .  .  He  was  indolent  and  fond  of  his 
comfort,  so  that  altogether  his  associates  in  the  navy 
gave  him  credit  for  very  little  energy.  What  was 
then  the  astonishment  of  his  old  companions  to  find 
that  Semmes  was  pursuing  a  course  that  required 
the  greatest  skill  and  vigor ;  for  there  never  was  a 
naval  commander  who  in  so  short  a  time  committed 
such  depredations  on  an  enemy's  commerce,  or  who 
so  successfully  eluded  the  vessels  sent  in  pursuit  of 
him  up  to  the  time  of  the  sinking  of  the  Alabama."  l 
Again  Porter  says :  ' '  Although  he  had  served 
many  years  in  the  United  States  Navy,  none  of  his 
associates  ever  supposed  that  in  time  of  war  he 
would  exhibit  so  much  efficiency  ;  for  although  his 
courage  was  undoubted,  his  tastes  were  rather  those 
of  the  scholar  than  of  the  dashing  naval  officer  and 
destroyer  of  commerce."  "From  being  the  mild 
est-mannered  man  in  the  navy,"  he  assumed  a 
"character  bordering  on  that  of  an  ancient  vi- 
1  "  Nav.  Hist.  Civ.  War,"  p.  602. 


112  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

king."  " Burning  ships  became  a  passion,  and  if 
ever  a  man  had  the  bump  of  destructiveness  on  his 
cranium,  that  man  was  Eaphael  Seniines."  Porter 
considers  that  he  was  the  most  vindictive  of  all  the 
officers  of  the  Confederate  navy,  but  in  this  mis 
judges  Semmes'  motive  entirely.  His  purpose  was 
the  same  as  that  of  all  soldiers  on  land  when 
they  burn  captured  supplies  that  they  cannot  take 
away  for  their  own  consumption.  Sherman's  object 
was  not  mere  revenge  when  he  destroyed  railroads 
and  bridges  in  Georgia  and  elsewhere.  Wealth,  as 
Semmes  urged  and  rightly  too,  is  a  necessity  in 
modern  wars,  both  on  land  and  water.  It  is  a  part 
of  the  game  to  weaken  the  adversary  by  demolish 
ing  his  means. 

For  this  function  of  annihilation  Semmes  turned 
out  to  be  the  very  man  the  Confederacy  needed,  as 
he  had  "  no  doubts  of  success  .  .  .  and  no  fear 
of  the  consequences."  The  inertness  he  had  dis 
played  while  in  the  United  States  Navy  had  disap 
peared  ;  he  had  become  a  new  man.  As  Semmes 
himself  had  realized  the  morning  he  arrived  in 
Montgomery,  his  previous  life  was  a  closed  book, 
and  a  new  volume,  all  blank  at  the  start,  had  been 
opened. 

He  had  need,  too,  of  all  the  buoyancy  that  a 


GETTING  OFF  WITH  THE  "SUMTER"    113 

youthful  vitality  could  bring.  Only  fresh  vigor 
and  determination  could  remove  the  impediments 
in  front  of  him.  In  former  years  on  such  an  occa 
sion  he  had  only  to  "go  into  a  navy  yard,  with 
well -provided  workshops  and  skilled  workmen 
ready  with  all  the  requisite  materials  at  hand  to 
execute  "  his  orders.  But  now  "  everything  had  to 
be  improvised,  from  the  manufacture  of  a  water 
tank  to  the  'kids  and  cans7  of  the  berth  deck 
messes,  and  from  a  gun  carriage  to  a  friction 
primer."  He  had  to  formulate  the  plans,  make 
the  drawings  and  supervise  alterations.  The  deck 
had  to  be  strengthened,  a  supplementary  one  put 
in,  engines  protected,  rigging  transformed,  cabins 
arranged  for  officers,  outfit  procured  for  crew,  gun 
carriages  constructed  at  his  own  direction  for  guns 
at  Norfolk,  shot  and  shell  cast,  a  corps  of  officers 
selected,  and  a  crew  gathered.  In  the  least  possible 
time,  with  the  scantiest  aids,  a  peaceful  steamer  had 
to  be  re-created  as  a  missile  of  ruin  against  the 
second  commercial  power  of  the  world.  Within 
"  two  long  and  tedious  months  "  the  conversion  was 
accomplished,  even  to  the  mounting  of  the  ordnance, 
which  Semmes  had  to  send  a  lieutenant  in  search  of 
as  the  five  pieces  had  been  scattered  along  the  rail 
way  lines,  side-tracked  for  other  freight.  Porter, 


114  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

on  the  other  side,  with  a  bewildering  richness  of 
advantages  at  command,  could  well  pay  generous 
tribute  to  Seinmes'  "patience  and  energy"  in 
spite  of  his  "trials  and  disappointments"  in  fitting 
out  the  Sumter. 

Meanwhile  the  Navy  Department  was  doing 
its  share  in  forwarding  this  momentous  work. 
Semmes'  undaunted  faith  in  his  power,  once  on 
salt  water,  can  be  measured  by  his  modest  requisi 
tion  for  only  ten  thousand  dollars  in  specie  for  use 
during  his  contemplated  cruise.  He  desired  only  a 
sufficiency  till  he  had  "the  opportunity  of  replen 
ishing  my  military  chest  from  the  enemy."  He 
"expected  to  make  the  Sumter  pay  her  own  ex 
penses  as  soon  as  she  should  get  to  sea. "  The  Sec 
retary  sent  him  sailing  orders  "to  do  the  enemy's 
commerce  the  greatest  injury  in  the  shortest  time." 
Mr.  Mallory,  in  the  next  three  years,  must  have 
often  smiled  with  satisfaction  at  the  thorough  obe 
dience  to  these  instructions.  The  original  despatch 
seems  lost,  and  nothing  of  it  remains  except  the 
above  quotation  that  Semmes  has  in  his  book  ;  at 
least  in  the  Naval  Eecords  of  the  United  States 
government,  printed  in  Washington  during  the  last 
twenty  years,  it  is  stated  that  the  orders  were  not 
found.  There  was  one  other  matter  for  Semmes  him- 


GETTING  OFF  WITH  THE  "SUMTER"    115 

self  to  look  after,  to  adopt  some  method  of  cipher  com 
munication  so  that  his  despatches  if  captured  would 
be  unintelligible  to  the  enemy.  He  hunted  through 
New  Orleans  till  he  obtained  two  copies  of  Reid's 
English  Dictionary,  one  of  which  he  forwarded  to 
the  Secretary,  while  he  retained  the  other.  What 
ever  word  he  wanted  to  use  would  be  indicated  by 
the  number  of  the  page,  and  a  letter  A  or  B  for  the 
column  and  another  number  for  the  position  of  the 
word  from  the  top  of  the  page.  Thus  "  prisoner  " 
would  be  "323,  B,  15,"  meaning  that  it  was  on 
page  323,  second  column,  fifteenth  word  from  the 
top.  The  two  had  then  a  code  without  a  key  ex 
cept  what  each  possessed. 

Senimes  was  internally  raging  to  get  at  his  prey. 
"We  are  losing  a  great  deal  of  precious  time,"  he 
confided  in  his  diary.  "  The  enemy's  flag  is  being 
flaunted  in  our  faces  at  all  our  ports  by  his  ships 
of  war,  and  his  vessels  of  commerce  are  passing  and 
repassing  on  the  ocean  in  defiance  or  in  contempt  of 
our  power,  and  as  yet  we  have  not  struck  a  blow. ' ' 
He  formally  commissioned  the  Sumter  on  June  3d, 
and  then  was  delayed  for  "two  long  and  tedious 
weeks,"  which  he  partly  utilized  in  trying  the 
speed  of  his  boat.  He  was  disappointed  that  he 
could  get  only  nine  knots  out  of  her.  He  could 


116  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

make  space  enough  for  only  eight  days7  fuel,  and 
though  he  had  sails,  these  could  be  only  partially 
utilized.  Still  he  was  undismayed.  He  was  to 
take  the  sea  "  alone,  against  a  vindictive  and  re 
lentless  enemy,"  swarming  along  the  coasts,  with 
inexhaustible  means,  but  he  recollected,  sailor -like, 
that  "luck  is  a  lord,"  and  he  trusted  in  fortune. 

So  far  there  had  been  only  material  obstacles  on 
his  own  side  to  circumvent,  but  treading  his  own 
deck,  with  a  trained  baud  under  him,  there  was 
now  danger  to  be  faced  in  getting  out  of  the  Mis 
sissippi,  past  the  fast  and  heavy  steamships  guard 
ing  the  mouths  of  that  river.  Semmes  dropped 
down  to  the  head  of  the  passes  so  as  to  be  able  to 
use  any  channel  that  might  perchance  be  left  un- 
watched.  A  month  earlier  he  could  have  gone  out 
without  hazard.  He  had  entered  in  his  diary  on 
May  24th:  "The  river  is  not  yet  blockaded,  but 
expected  to  be  to-morrow."  He  added,  with  a  ring 
of  defiance,  "it  must  be  a  close  blockade  and  by 
heavy  vessels  that  will  keep  us  in."  * 

Like  a  caged  eagle  beating  his  wings  for  an  open 
ing,  Semmes  lay  in  his  position  for  nine  days,  now 
in  sultry  weather,  now  almost  blistered  by  the  glare 
of  the  sun  reflected  from  the  river's  surface,  and  all 
1  "Naval  War  Records,"  Series  I,  Vol.  I,  p.  691. 


GETTING  OFF  WITH  THE  "SUMTER"    117 

the  while  so  viciously  assaulted  by  mosquitoes  that 
the  crew  were  ready  to  dare  all  perils  to  escape. 
He  wondered  why  his  adversaries  did  not  come  up 
the  ten  or  twelve  miles  and  capture  his  little  Sumter 
or  drive  him  farther  up-stream,  and  anchor  there 
where  one  ship  would  command  all  three  principal 
outlets  and  block  his  escape.  Nothing  of  the  sort 
was  attempted,  though  Senimes,  anticipating  a  pos 
sible  night  attack,  had  mounted  a  special  gun.  The 
United  States  boats  contented  themselves  with  ly 
ing  outside,  keeping  one  or  more  near  each  bar  to 
thwart  Semmes'  aims. 

They  did  not  realize  how  eternally  wary  the 
pent-up  prisoner  was.  Semmes  had  all  things 
ready  so  far  as  foresight  could  serve  that  end.  Al 
though  it  was  near  midnight  when  he  came  down  to 
his  post,  he  had  "despatched  a  boat  to  the  light 
house  for  a  pilot."  The  keeper  " knew  nothing  of 
the  pilots  and  was  unwilling  to  come  on  board 
himself,  though  requested  "  to  do  so.  The  next  day 
he  sent  to  the  pilots'  station  on  the  Southwest  Pass 
and  was  abruptly  told  that  ' i  there  are  no  pilots  on 
duty  now."  Semmes  was  not  to  be  baffled  by  either 
sullen  or  curt  responses.  He  decided  to  test  the 
loyalty  of  the  pilots  to  the  newly  formed  Con 
federacy.  He  ordered  the  captain  of  the  association 


118  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

and  several  members  to  come  on  board  the  Sumter 
and  threatened  with  arrest  any  who  disobeyed. 
They  were  in  his  cabin  in  a  short  time,  with 
stammering  excuses  that  Semines  cut  off  by  requir 
ing  one  of  them  to  remain  on  board  his  ship  con 
stantly,  to  be  relieved  week  by  week  until  he  no 
longer  had  need  for  the  service. 

Seinines  did  not  relax  his  vigilance,  although  he 
felt  "  the  anaconda  drawing  his  folds  around  us,"  as 
he  heard  of  new  boats  coming  to  the  blockade.  He 
kept  well  coaled,  his  eyes  all  the  time  open  and  his 
mind  full  of  schemes.  He  had  a  deserted  outlet 
sounded,  but  it  was  only  ten  and  a  half  feet  deep, 
while  the  Sumter  drew  twelve.  Another  time  the 
pilot  reported  that  the  Brooklyn  was  nowhere  to  be 
seen.  Immediately  he  was  plowing  his  way  down 
stream.  After  a  spurt  of  four  miles,  there  rode  the 
Brooklyn  at  her  usual  berth.  The  Sumter  had 
dragged  her  anchor  during  the  night  and  thus 
brought  a  clump  of  trees  between  herself  and  her 
enemy.  Chagrined,  he  returned  to  his  place. 

The  next  morning,  Sunday,  was  bright,  and  bade 
fair  to  be  idle  also,  when,  during  muster,  a  boat  from 
the  lighthouse  tender  reported  the  Brooklyn  away 
on  a  chase.  Instantly  all  was  bustle,  and  the  Sum 
ter,  as  if  fretting  to  cheat  the  marshes  of  the  Mis- 


GETTING  OFF  WITH  THE  "SUMTER"    119 

sissippi,  "  bounded  away  like  a  thing  of  life."  All 
were  exuberant  except  the  pilot.  He  was  pale, 
nervous,  agitated,  and  when  he  saw  that  the  gam 
bler's  chance  was  to  be  staked,  he  broke  down  and 
mumbled  out :  "  I  am  a  southwest  bar  pilot  and 
know  nothing  of  the  other  passes."  Semmes  flared 
out  at  him  :  i  i  What !  did  you  not  know  that  I  was 
lying  at  the  head  of  the  passes  for  the  very  purpose 
of  taking  any  one  of  the  outlets  through  which  an 
opportunity  of  escape  might  present  itself,  and  yet 
you  dare  tell  me  you  knew  but  one  of  them,  and 
have  been  deceiving  me  1  "  He  listened  to  none  of 
the  man's  whiuiugs,  but  ordered  up  the  signal  for 
another  pilot.  He  did  not  hope  to  get  any,  but 
would  risk  all  on  his  own  acquaintance  of  the 
channel  gained  as  lighthouse  inspector. 

The  Brooklyn  was  racing  back  to  her  station. 
Each  had  about  the  same  distance  to  make,  but 
Semmes  was  pushed  along  by  a  four  knot  current. 
He  asked  a  lieutenant  what  was  the  prospect. 
"  Prospect,  sir  !  not  the  least  in  the  world  ;  there  is 
no  possible  chance  of  our  escaping  that  ship.  Even 
if  we  get  over  the  bar,  she  must  overhaul  us  in  a 
very  short  time.  The  Brooklyn  is  good  for  fourteen 
knots  an  hour,  sir."  Being  told  that  that  was  her 
trial  speed  when  all  such  matters  are  exaggerated, 


120  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

he  replied :  "  You'll  see,  sir,  we  made  a  passage  in 
her  only  a  few  mouths  ago  from  Tampico  to  Pen- 
sacola,  and  averaged  about  thirteen  knots  the  whole 
distance." 

Here  a  pilot  boat  was  seen  rapidly  coming  toward 
them,  a  very  thrilling  sight  to  Semmes.  Still  more 
moving,  the  pilot's  beautiful  young  wife  was  "  wav 
ing  him  on  to  his  duty  with  her  handkerchief. "  In 
a  few  moments  "the  gallant  young  fellow  stood  on 
the  horse-block  beside  me,"  says  Semmes,  who  also 
noticed  "other  petticoats  fluttering  in  the  breeze,7' 
as  the  little  Sumter  swept  on  past  the  lighthouse 
wharf.  Half  a  mile  further  and  there  was  the  bar, 
with  a  Bremen  steamer  aground,  and  a  warp,  at 
tached  to  a  kedge,  right  across  the  passageway. 
The  German  crew  considerately  slackened  it,  and 
with  another  bound,  the  Sumter  was  over  the 
barrier,  and  out  on  the  "glad  waters  of  the  dark 
blue  sea."  She  slowed  down  a  little  to  drop  the 
pilot  who  gave  his  farewell  to  Semmes:  "Now, 
captain,  you  are  all  clear ;  give  her  hell,  and  let 
her  go." 

The  Brooklyn  was  only  four  miles  away,  almost 
within  gun  range,  with  steam  up  and  thick  volumes 
of  smoke  pouring  from  her  chimneys.  Semmes 
heaved  his  log,  and  was  disappointed  that  he  was 


GETTING  OFF  WITH  THE  "SUMTEB"    121 

making  only  nine  and  a  half  knots.  He  could  not 
understand  this,  for  the  current  was  still  aiding 
him,  but  the  engineer  reported  his  boilers  foaming. 
Knowing  he  could  sail  closer  to  the  wind  than  his 
pursuer,  he  determined  to  do  this  though  it  brought 
him  a  little  nearer  to  her  for  a  time.  A  friendly 
squall  now  hid  each  from  the  other  for  half  an  hour, 
but  it  blew  away,  and  there  was  the  relentless  hunter 
fearfully  near.  The  money  chest  and  papers  were 
prepared  to  be  tossed  overboard,  when  the  foaming 
ceased,  the  breeze  freshened,  and  the  Sumter  began 
to  "eat  the  wind  "  out  of  the  Brooklyn.  After  half 
an  hour  more,  Semmes  saw  one  of  his  most  beauti 
ful  pictures  at  sea,  u  when  the  Brooklyn  let  fly  all 
her  sheets  and  halliards  at  once,  and  clewed  up  and 
furled  in  man-of-war  style  all  her  sails  from  courses 
to  royals." 

She  went  sadly  back  to  her  lair,  and  the  hounded 
Sumter  was  clear  of  the  chase.  The  lookouts  saw  a 
couple  of  sail,  but  these  specters  soon  faded.  The 
prisoner  had  dared  all.  Now  that  they  had  gained 
an  offing,  they  felt  the  "  welcome  heave  of  the  sea," 
they  breathed  the  pure  air  of  the  Gulf,  untainted 
of  malaria  and  untouched  of  mosquito's  wing — 
irksome  fetter  and  bond  fell  from  them,  they  were 
free  on  the  world's  highway.  The  crew  cheered 


122  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

their  flag,  the  officers  had  a  libation  of  wine, 
Seinines  breathed  a  prayer  to  his  diary  :  "  May  the 
Almighty  smile  upon  us  and  our  cause,  and  may 
we  show  ourselves  worthy  servants  of  Him  and  it." 
His  thoughts  were  with  the  things  of  the  spirit. 
How  peaceful  all  about  him,  the  sleeping  sea,  "the 
screen  of  purple  and  gold ' '  in  the  west,  the  myriad 
of  stars,  the  blazing  comet  that  "  mirrored  itself 
within  a  hundred  feet  of  our  little  bark,"  but  how 
hurried  and  confused  the  last  few  months.  "A 
little  while  back  and  I  had  served  under  the  very 
flag  which  I  had  that  day  defied."  A  discordant 
dream  to  him,  painful,  distressing  ! 

As  for  the  Brooklyn,  her  captain,  outwitted,  had 
sententiously  ended  his  brief  log  entry:  "Aban 
doned  the  chase  and  stood  back  for  the  pass."  He 
had  come  within  an  ace  of  blotting  out  nearly  the 
whole  seagoing  navy  of  the  Confederacy,  of  saving 
millions  of  dollars  of  wealth  from  the  flames,  and 
of  forestalling  a  serious  international  complication 
that  almost  brought  to  blows  the  two  great  English 
peoples  facing  each  other  across  the  Atlantic.  He 
was  unfairly  censured  by  his  own  government. 


CHAPTER  VII 

A  DOZEN  PRIZES 

THROUGH  his  "bold  and  dashing  ad  venture " 
the  untamed  deep  was  Semmes'  to  roam  over  as  he 
listed.  Knowing  something  of  the  speed  of  his  ship 
and  of  the  temper  of  his  force,  he  was  ready  to 
front  any  fate.  His  crew,  though  gathered  in  a 
Southern  port,  were  cosmopolite,  "  not  half  a  dozen 
Southern-born  men  "  being  among  them. 

His  officers  he  knew — all  were  from  the  South ; 
all  had  been  bred  in  the  old  navy,  and  consequently 
were  trained  for  their  work.  His  first  lieutenant, 
the  executive  who  was  with  him  to  the  going  down 
of  the  Alabama,  was  John  Mclntosh  Kell,  of 
Georgia.  The  two  had  first  got  acquainted  when, 
as  a  passed  midshipman,  he  had  refused  to  obey 
an  order  to  perform  some  menial  work,  and  had 
been  haled,  along  with  several  associates,  before 
a  court  martial.  Semmes  appeared  as  counsel  for 
them.  Kell  was  nothing  of  the  mutineer.  He  had 
a  high  sense  of  duty,  and  was  a  courteous  gentleman 


124  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

who,  however,  was  a  strict  disciplinarian.  Of  the 
three  other  lieutenants,  two  were  from  South  Car 
olina  and  one  from  Alabama.  The  surgeon  from 
Virginia,  the  paymaster  from  South  Carolina,  with 
the  chief  engineer  and  the  marine  officer,  completed 
the  ward  room,  on  which  every  captain  has  to  rely 
for  success  in  action.  But  although  Semmes  ap 
pointed  his  junior  lieutenant  navigating  officer,  and 
had  every  confidence  in  his  ability,  he  always  made 
observations  himself,  as  he  could  sleep  better  amid 
dangers  if  he  had  himself  calculated  his  position. 

As  the  head  of  this  band  Semmes  had  to  bear  the 
responsibility  of  legal  and  international  penalties 
and  the  heavy  burden  was  on  him  at  the  start. 
President  Lincoln,  in  April,  had  issued  his  block 
ade  proclamation  which  closed  with  the  solemn 
warning  that  all  persons  interfering  with  United 
States  vessels  ' '  will  be  held  amenable  to  the  laws 
of  the  United  States  for  the  prevention  and  punish 
ment  of  piracy. "  His  Secretary  of  the  Navy  soon 
worked  himself  into  a  frenzy  on  the  subject,  and  in 
his  later  reports  had  a  large  assortment  of  epithets 
to  cast  at  Semmes  and  his  vessels  as  "  pirates, " 
" piratical  cruisers,"  "  piratical  privateers,"  " cor 
sairs,"  "Algerine  corsairs,"  u  Mediterranean  cor 
sairs,  "  "  rovers, "  "  lawless  rovers, "  "  rebel  rovers, '  * 


A  DOZEN  PEIZES  125 

"unlicensed  rovers,"  "  predatory  rovers, "  u  rob 
bers  of  the  sea,"  "lawless  vessels,"  " semi-pirat 
ical  vessels.'7 ' 

The  heat  and  passion  of  the  hour  bore  many  high 
officials  far  from  their  true  moorings,  but  the  din 
of  the  politician  and  the  clamor  of  the  newspaper 
were  confusing  on  both  sides.  The  sight  even  of 
the  mighty  mystic  was  at  times  blurred  when  he 
had  to  trust  to  blundering  subordinates.  Now, 
that  all  the  hubbub  has  subsided,  it  is  clear  enough 
that  there  was  no  semblance  of  the  pirate  in  either 
the  Sumter  or  the  Alabama. 

On  this  point  one  of  the  most  capable  of  author 
ities,  J.  E.  Soley,  a  native  of  Massachusetts,  grad 
uate  of  Harvard,  professor,  and  assistant  Secretary 
of  the  Navy,  says:  "A  great  deal  of  uncalled-for 
abuse  has  been  heaped  upon  the  South  for  the  work 
of  the  Confederate  cruisers,  and  their  mode  of  war 
fare  has  been  repeatedly  denounced  as  barbarous 
and  piratical  in  official  and  unofficial  publications. 
But  neither  the  privateers,  like  the  Petrel  and  Sa 
vannah,  nor  the  commissioned  cruisers,  like  the  Ala 
bama  and  the  Florida,  were  guilty  of  any  practices 
which,  as  against  their  enemies,  were  contrary  to 
the  laws  of  war.  .  .  .  The  right  to  capture  an 

1  Report*  of  Secretary  of  the  Navy  for  1861,  1862,  1863,  1864. 


126  RAPHAEL  SEMMES 

enemy's  private  property  at  sea  is  fully  recognized 
by  the  law  and  practice  of  nations  to-day.  .  .  . 
Whether  the  prize  is  destroyed  at  sea  or  is  brought 
into  a  prize  court  and  condemned  can  make  no 
possible  difference  to  the  owner,  if  the  owner  is 
clearly  an  enemy."  Of  course  the  captor  would 
prefer  to  take  his  captive  into  port  and  reap  some 
benefit  from,  his  risk  and  toil,  but  as  foreign  ports 
refused  this  privilege  and  all  those  at  his  home  were 
blockaded,  "nothing  remained  but  to  destroy  the 
captured  vessel  at  sea.  To  have  done  otherwise 
would  have  been  to  abandon  the  right  of  maritime 
capture.'7 

In  the  War  of  1812,  the  cruiser  Argus  had  been  a 
forerunner  of  the  Alabama  in  a  remarkable  manner. 
The  instructions  issued  then  were  the  same  in  pur 
port  as  Mallory's  to  Semnies,  namely,  "  destroy  all 
you  capture  unless  in  some  extraordinary  cases  that 
clearly  warrant  an  exception."  In  the  Crimean 
War  an  English  authority  had  said  it  was  entirely 
"  justifiable,  even  praiseworthy,  in  the  captors  to 
destroy  an  enemy's  vessel."  Subsequent  to  the 
Civil  War,  in  the  struggle  between  France  and 
Germany,  the  French  had  followed  the  same  -road, 
and  had  burnt  at  least  two  captured  vessels.  In 
fact,  thinks  Soley,  "other  governments  in  case  of 


A  DOZEN  PEIZES  127 

war  with  a  commercial  power  will  deem  themselves 
fortunate  if  they  can  rival  the  achievements  of  the 
Confederate  commerce  destroyers."  l 

Semmes  himself  refuted  the  charges  of  piracy 
in  a  letter  in  the  London  Times  in  January,  1862. 
He  referred  to  the  vessels  commissioned  by  the 
Americans  in  the  revolutionary  uprising  against 
England.  He  retaliated  by  pointing  out  that  prizes 
had  been  made  by  the  United  States  blockading 
squadrons,  some  of  which  were  also  burnt. 

Without  a  doubt  as  to  the  justice  of  his  cause,  and 
feeling  just  as  sure  of  his  legal  and  international 
position — since  substantiated  also  by  the  best  stu 
dents  of  the  question — Semmes,  after  eluding  the  net 
stretched  for  him,  was  well  prepared  for  his  career 
of  destruction  wherever  he  could  find  his  prey. 
Porter  thought  that  the  Spanish  main  would  be 
Semmes'  objective  because  he  had  cruised  all  over 
that  region,  through  the  tortuous  channels  among 
its  wilderness  of  isles.  Around  Occoa  Bay,  the  Isle 
of  Pines,  and  other  spots  that  Semmes  had  visited, 
were  "  hiding  holes  "  enough  to  conceal  a  thousand 
boats,  so  that  the  "  devil  himself  could  not  find  the 
vessels  unless  he  knew  the  locality"  as  well  as 
Semmes. 

1  Soley's  "  Blockade  and  Cruisers,"  pp.  229-230. 


128  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

His  intention  was  "to  make  a  dash  of  a  few  days 
at  the  enemy's  ships  on  the  south  side  of  Cuba,  coal 
at  some  convenient  point,  stretch  over  to  Barbadoes, 
coal  again,  and  then  strike  for  the  Brazilian  coast." 
On  the  third  day  after  winning  his  freedom,  while 
running  along  the  Cuban  coast  and  the  Isle  of  Pines, 
he  heard  the  welcome  sound  of  * l  Sail  ho  ! "  from  the 
masthead.  Two  boats  were  in  sight.  One  was 
Spanish  and  was  at  once  released. 

The  other  was  to  be  Semrnes'  first  prize,  the 
Golden  Eocket,  of  seven  hundred  tons,  bound  to  a 
Cuban  port  for  a  cargo  of  sugar.  Senimes  had  no 
difficulty  in  determining  the  nationality  of  the  craft. 
' '  There  were  the  American  register  and  clearance 
and  the  American  character  impressed  upon  every 
plank  and  spar  of  the  ship."  The  master  was 
almost  too  astonished  to  make  any  complaint  as  he 
never  dreamed  of  seeing  a  Confederate  flag  on  the 
high  seas.  Semmes  here  began  his  custom,  invari 
ably  followed  afterward,  of  seizing  the  chronometers 
and  flags.  He  took  besides  some  provisions  and 
sails.  Perhaps  because  he  did  not  want  to  spare 
hands  for  a  prize  crew,  he  concluded  to  burn  his 
capture.  Mournful  associations  came  to  his  memory, 
sad  reflections  ruled  his  thoughts  :  the  flag  he  had 
heretofore  cherished  had  just  waved  over  that  vessel ; 


A  DOZEK  PRIZES  129 

it  was  pitiful  that  evil  passions  had  set  brothers  at 
war  with  each  other  even  far  out  on  the  rolling 
waves. 

It  was  the  first  physical  blow  he  had  struck 
against  the  foe,  and  he  has  left  us  a  graphic  descrip 
tion  of  the  work  of  the  torch.  The  ship  was  built 
of  Maine  pine  "  calked  with  old-fashioned  oakum 
and  paid  with  pitch  :  the  woodwork  of  the  cabin 
was  like  so  much  tinder,  having  been  seasoned  by 
many  voyages  to  the  tropics,  and  the  forecastle  was 
stored  with  paints  and  oils. 7 7  The  torch  was  applied 
at  once  in  three  places,  cabin,  main-hold  and  fore 
castle,  and  the  flames  burst  from  all  three.  "  The 
burning  ship,  with  the  Sumter's  boat  in  the  act  of 
shoving  off  from  her  side  ;  the  Sumter  herself,  with 
her  grim,  black  sides,  lying  in  repose  like  some 
great  sea-monster,  gloating  upon  the  spectacle,  and 
the  sleeping  sea,  for  there  was  scarce  a  ripple  upon 
the  water,  were  all  brilliantly  lighted.  The  in 
draught  into  the  burning  ship's  holds  and  cabins 
added  every  moment  new  fuel  to  the  flames,  and 
now  they  could  be  heard  like  the  fires  of  a  hundred 
furnaces  in  full  blast.  The  prize  ship  had  been  laid 
to,  with  her  main  topsail  to  the  mast,  and  all  her 
light  sails,  though  clewed  up,  were  flying  loose 
about  the  yards.  The  forked  tongue  of  the  devour- 


130  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

ing  element,  leaping  into  the  rigging,  newly  tarred, 
ran  rapidly  up  the  shrouds,  first  into  the  tops,  then 
to  the  topmast  heads,  thence  to  the  topgallant,  and 
royal  mastheads,  and  in  a  moment  more  to  the 
trucks;  and  while  this  rapid  ascent  of  the  main 
current  of  fire  was  going  on,  other  currents  had  run 
out  upon  the  yards,  and  ignited  all  the  sails.  A 
topgallantsail,  all  on  fire,  would  now  fly  off  from 
the  yard,  and  sailing  leisurely  in  the  direction  of 
the  light  breeze  that  was  fanning,  rather  than  blow 
ing,  break  into  bright  and  silent  patches  of  flame, 
and  settle,  or  rather  silt,  into  the  sea.  The  yard 
would  then  follow,  and  not  being  wholly  submerged 
by  its  descent  into  the  sea,  would  retain  a  portion  of 
its  flame,  and  continue  to  burn,  as  a  floating  brand, 
for  some  minutes.  At  one  time  the  intricate  net 
work  of  the  cordage  of  the  burning  ship  was  traced, 
as  with  a  pencil  of  fire,  upon  the  black  sky  beyond, 
the  many  threads  of  flame  twisting  and  writhing, 
like  so  many  serpents  that  had  received  their  death 
wounds.  The  mizzenmast  now  went  by  the  board, 
then  the  foremast,  and  in  a  few  minutes  afterward 
the  great  mainmast  tottered,  reeled,  and  fell  over 
the  ship's  side  into  the  sea,  making  a  noise  like  that 
of  the  sturdy  oak  of  the  forests  when  it  falls  by  the 
stroke  of  the  axeman." 


A  DOZEN  PEIZES  131 

As  for  the  crew,  it  was  a  matter  of  pride  with 
Seinines  to  treat  "prisoners  of  war  according  to  the 
laws  of  war."  "The  captain  was  invited  to  mess 
in  the  ward  room,  and  when  he  was  afterward 
lauded,  the  officers  generously  made  him  up  a  purse 
to  supply  his  immediate  necessities.  The  crew  was 
put  into  a  mess  by  themselves,  with  their  own  cook, 
and  was  put  on  a  footing  with  regard  to  rations 
with  the  Sumter's  own  men.  We  were  making  war 
upon  the  enemy's  commerce  but  not  upon  his  un 
armed  seamen." 

Seinmes  wasted  no  time,  but  the  next  day  over 
hauled,  two  more  vessels,  the  Cuba  and  the  Machias, 
both  loaded  with  sugar  and  molasses,  and  both  from 
a  Cuban  port  bound  for  England.  He  could  not 
burn  these  as  they  had  neutral  property  aboard,  but 
putting  prize  crews  on  them  he  made  for  Cienfue- 
gos,  with  both  in  tow,  with  the  hope  that  Spain 
would  allow  both  belligerents  to  bring  in  prizes  for 
adjudication.  As  he  was  too  much  impeded  by  the 
two  boats,  he  cast  off  the  Cuba,  ordering  the  prize 
crew  of  one  midshipman  and  four  seamen  to  follow 
him  in.  They  never  did  so,  as  some  were  treach 
erous  and  deserted  to  the  original  master  and  crew, 
who  secured  some  of  the  firearms,  wounded  the  mid 
shipman,  recaptured  the  craft  and  escaped. 


132  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

On  her  way  to  the  harbor,  the  Sumter,  on  July 
5th,  made  two  more  captures,  the  Ben  Dunning  and 
the  Albert  Adams,  both  also  bearing  neutral  goods 
as  freight.  As  it  was  too  late  to  get  in  to  anchor 
that  night,  Semmes  lay  off  until  daylight.  The 
next  morning  dawned  bright  and  clear,  and  as  he 
was  preparing  to  move  in,  he  saw  smoke  coming 
down  the  river.  It  was  a  steamer  towing  two 
American  barks  and  one  brig.  Semmes  craftily 
showed  Spanish  colors,  and  patiently  waited  till  all 
three,  having  been  cast  off  from  the  towing  steamer, 
were  beyond  the  marine  league  from  laud.  Then 
the  Sumter  set  off  in  pursuit.  She  soon  captured 
them  ;  the  West  Wind,  the  Louisa  Kilham,  and  the 
Naiad. 

Semmes  proudly  stood  in  with  his  six  catches, 
but  he  was  warned  by  musket-balls  from  the  fort  to 
proceed  no  further,  as  his  pennant  was  so  strange  a 
device  that  he  was  suspected  of  being  a  buccaneer. 
The  others  with  the  United  States  flag  flying  were 
permitted  to  pass.  Explanations  were  simple  with 
the  aid  of  wine,  and  Semmes  was  soon  in  the  haven, 
confronted  with  the  serious  problem  of  inducing  the 
authorities  to  grant  the  South  entrance  into  Spanish 
ports  with  prizes.  To  bend  the  laws  of  nations  to 
his  purpose  was  a  greater  feat  than  evading  the 


A  DOZEN  PRIZES  133 

squadron  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  He 
made  just  as  bold  and  as  gallant  an  effort,  and  his 
skill,  if  possible,  was  even  more  admirable. 

He  sent  a  strong  despatch  to  the  government 
arguing  for  the  right.  He  urged  that  the  South 
was  assailed  in  "  an  aggressive  and  unjust  war,"  in 
which  the  manufacturing  and  commercial  North 
have  "dishonestly  seized  and  turned  against  the 
Confederate  states"  all  the  naval  force  that  had 
been  created  by  both  sections,  and  in  consequence 
the  United  States  "are  enabled  in  the  first  months 
of  the  war  to  blockade  all  the  ports 7 '  of  the  South, 
which  nevertheless  is  "maintaining  a  government 
de  facto  and  not  only  holding  the  enemy  in  check 
but  gaining  advantages  over  him."  At  this  junc 
ture  of  affairs,  belligerent  rights  are  granted  both 
sides  by  the  leading  nations,  excluding  the  prizes 
of  each  from  their  ports.  While  such  restriction, 
imposed  impartially  on  the  two  contending  foes, 
seems  perfectly  fair,  yet  the  rule  "cannot  be  ap 
plied  in  the  present  war  without  operating  with 
great  injustice  to  the  Confederate  states,"  since  they 
will  be  shut  out  of  all  ports,  their  own  being  "  her 
metically  sealed  "  by  the  blockade,  and  all  others 
being  closed  by  this  policy  of  the  powers.  This 
will  not  be  equal  justice  to  both  parties  because  the 


134  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

United  States  can  take  their  prizes  home,  while  the 
Confederacy  can  only  destroy  theirs.  Besides  as  to 
the  six  vessels  just  brought  in,  the  special  question 
arises  as  to  neutral  property,  some  being  certificated 
as  of  Spanish  ownership.  A  judicial  inquiry  is 
necessary  to  determine  the  matter. 

It  was  a  bold  venture  on  the  part  of  Semmes,  and 
he  made  the  strongest  sort  of  plea  for  a  weak  cause. 
He  could  only  lose,  but  he  never  expected  to  lose 
his  six  prizes  also.  The  Spanish  authorities  turned 
them  all  back  to  their  owners  instead  of  notifying 
Semmes  to  take  them  away.  Of  course  there  had 
to  be  some  shadow  of  justification  for  such  an  extra 
ordinary  proceeding,  and  hence  it  was  charged  that 
he  had  violated  Spanish  neutrality  in  making  three 
of  the  captures  within  the  marine  league,  the  evi 
dence  being  the  testimony  of  an  English  sailor  on 
the  tug,  and  of  Semmes'  Spanish  pilot  who  had 
estimated  for  Semmes  that  it  was  five  miles  from 
shore,  and  then  afterward  reduced  it  to  less  than 
three.  Semmes  attributed  this  change  in  figures  to 
the  magic  of  gold  skilfully  handled  by  the  United 
States  consul,  but  he  consoled  himself  with  a  dream 
of  how  Spain  could  be  made  to  pay  for  all  her 
shameless  conduct  after  the  Confederacy  was  fully 
established.  He  had  done  his  best  to  avoid  de- 


A  DOZEN  PEIZES  135 

struction  in  capture,  but  the  usage  of  the  nations 
was  against  him,  and  he  could  only  apply  the  torch 
from  now  on. 

Having  taken  on  a  good  supply  of  coal,  he  set 
out,  as  he  had  aimed,  to  make  the  Barbadoes,  there 
recoal  and  go  thence  to  Cape  St.  Eoque,  Brazil, 
and  u  reap  a  rich  harvest  from  the  enemy's  com 
merce.  ' '  But  the  trade  winds  beat  on  him  so  heavily 
that  he  was  forced  to  consume  the  most  of  his  fuel ; 
hence  he  altered  his  course  and  went  to  the  Dutch 
island  of  Cura£oa.  Here  he  was  to  meet  again  the 
watchful  and  pertinacious  American  consul,  who 
claimed  that  the  Sumter  was  a  pirate  and  should 
not  be  allowed  to  enter  the  harbor.  When  Semmes 
heard  this  he  despatched  a  firm  protest  against  such 
treatment.  He  declared  that  the  Sumter  was  a  < l  ship 
of  war  duly  commissioned  by  the  government  of  the 
Confederate  states,  which  states  have  been  rec 
ognized  as  belligerents  in  the  present  war  by  all  the 
leading  powers  of  Europe,"  and  as  such  she  had  as 
much  right  as  any  ship  of  the  United  States.  These 
other  powers  had  drawn  no  distinction  between  the 
belligerents.  Holland  admitted  the  cruisers  of  the 
United  States,  then  why  should  she  exclude  those  of 
the  Confederacy?  If  she  thus  intended  to  aid  one 
of  the  belligerents  and  not  the  other,  he  would  like 


136  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

a  frank  statement  from  the  government  to  that 
effect. 

All  the  dignitaries  of  the  island  gathered,  smoked, 
and  pondered,  while  Senimes'  officer  sat  in  an  outer 
room,  mixing  and  drinking  juleps.  But  Senimes 
could  not  endure  such  delay  when  he  could  be  of 
assistance  in  reaching  a  decision.  He  had  his 
drums  beat  to  quarters  and  his  guns  cast  loose  to 
try  out  his  crew  at  a  little  practice.  ' l  Whiz  !  went 
a  shell  across  the  windows  of  the  council  chamber 
which  overlooked  the  sea  ;  the  shell  bursting  like  a 
clap  of  rather  sharp,  ragged  thunder,  a  little  beyond 
in  close  proximity  to  the  target.  Sundry  heads 
were  seen  immediately  to  pop  out  of  the  windows 
of  the  chamber,  and  then  to  be  withdrawn  very 
suddenly.  ...  By  the  time  we  had  fired  three 
or  four  shells  Chapman's  boat  was  seen  returning. 
.  .  .  My  lieutenant  came  on  board  smiling 
.  .  .  and  said  the  governor  had  given  us  per 
mission  to  enter. " 

Here  Senimes  stayed  a  week,  repairing  and  coal 
ing,  visiting  ashore  and  giving  fine,  vivid  pen  pic 
tures  of  the  scenery  and  the  people.  If  he  had  been 
a  corsair  at  heart,  an  adventurer,  as  he  was  so  often 
charged  with  being  by  irresponsible  journalists,  a 
fine  chance  was  presented  to  him  one  day  when  an 


A  DOZEN  PEIZES  137 

emissary  from  the  deposed  president  of  Venezuela 
suggested  that  he  reinstate  that  official  in  his 
post.  Semnies  heard  him  courteously  but  firmly 
declined,  though  he  humorously  dallied  with  the 
scheme  in  his  imagination  as  an  opportunity  for 
an  unscrupulous  ambitious  man  to  gather  up  all 
the  piraguas  and  canoes  of  the  Venezuelan  navy. 
He  might  then  put  to  flight  all  opposition  and  de 
clare  himself  head  of  the  government,  eventually, 
perhaps  having  himself  crowned  king. 

A  few  days  later  he  probably  smiled  at  this 
roseate  dream  when  the  conditions  were  reversed, 
and  he  was  a  suppliant  at  a  port  of  Venezuela  for 
an  international  favor.  The  day  after  leaving 
Curacoa  he  captured  the  Abby  Bradford,  bound  for 
Puerto  Cabello.  Being  near  that  port  he  resolved 
to  try  his  hand  with  the  de  facto  president  of  Ven 
ezuela  on  the  question  of  admitting  his  prizes.  He 
saw  no  reason  why  "some  of  these  beggarly  South 
American  republics''  should  be  " putting  on  the 
airs  of  nations,  and  talking  about  acknowledging 
other  people  when  they  had  lived  a  whole  generation 
themselves  without  the  acknowledgment  of  Spain." 
But  again  he  found  the  ever  vigilant  and  ubiquitous 
"  Yankee  consul  "  ready  to  frustrate  his  designs. 

In  spite  of  heavy  odds  he  valiantly  made  the 


138  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

effort.  No  sooner  was  he  anchored  than  he  de 
spatched  a  strong,  dignified  statement  to  the  gov 
ernor  urging  that  the  Venezuelan  government 
"  admit  both  belligerents  to  bring  their  prizes  into 
her  waters."  But  if  she  shall  adopt  the  principle 
of  exclusion,  she  will  be  favoring  the  United  States 
as  they  can  take  their  captures  to  their  own  ports, 
while  nothing  will  be  left  for  the  Confederates  ex 
cept  to  destroy  theirs  at  sea.  "  A  rule  which  would 
produce  such  unequal  results  as  this  is  not  a  just 
rule,  .  .  .  and  as  equality  and  justice  are  of 
the  essence  of  neutrality,  I  take  it  for  granted  that 
Venezuela  will  not  adopt  it." 

When  his  missive  "was  handed  to  the  governor, 
there  was  a  racing  and  chasing  of  barefooted  order 
lies.  ...  A  grand  council  was  held  at  which  the 
Confederate  states  had  not  the  honor  to  be  repre 
sented,7'  but  the  American  consul  was  there,  and  he 
was  the  symbol  of  profitable  trade  between  the  two 
lauds.  His  influence  dominated  the  deliberations. 
Semmes  was  very  quickly  notified  by  the  governor 
to  take  his  prize  out  of  the  harbor.  It  was  a  polite 
document  but  a  strongly  worded  one.  Semmes 
finished  getting  provisions  aboard,  and  departed 
leisurely,  having  put  a  prize  crew  aboard  the  Brad 
ford  with  orders  to  run  into  New  Orleans.  They 


A  DOZEN  PEIZES  139 

tried  but  were  recaptured.  Semmes  forwarded  on 
her  a  letter  to  Secretary  Mallory,  briefly  recounting 
his  exploits  to  date,  and  modestly  remarking : 
"We  are  all  well  and  doing  a  pretty  fair  business 
in  mercantile  parlance,  having  made  nine  captures 
in  twenty-six  days." 

He  was  scarcely  out  on  the  high  seas  again  before 
he  took  the  Joseph  Maxwell,  with  half  her  cargo 
neutral.  Semmes  made  another  effort  to  get  bellig 
erent  rights  for  prizes  from  Venezuela.  As  the 
property  was  consigned  to  a  merchant  in  Puerto 
Cabello,  he  put  back  there,  being  careful  to  leave 
his  capture  over  a  marine  league  from  shore.  He 
sent  in  his  paymaster  to  see  whether  "  this  prize  in 
which  a  Venezuelan  citizen  was  interested  would 
not  be  permitted  to  enter  and  remain  until  she 
could  be  adjudicated."  The  messenger  soon  re 
turned  and  "handed  me  a  written  command  from 
the  governor  to  bring  the  Maxwell  in  and  deliver 
her  to  him  until  the  Venezuelan  courts  could  de 
termine  whether  she  had  been  captured  within  the 
marine  league  or  not."  Semmes  was  amused  by 
such  insolence,  but  he  saw  some  half-naked  soldiers 
around  the  guns  of  the  fort,  whereupon  he  got  his 
own  ready,  and  sailed  out.  He  would  have  burned 
the  Maxwell  but  for  the  neutral  freight  aboard.  In- 


140  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

stead  he  sent  her  to  Cienfuegos  to  be  adjudicated 
by  a  prize  court  of  the  Confederate  states.  He  did 
not  yet  know  that  Spain  had  issued  a  neutrality 
proclamation  like  those  of  Great  Britain  and  France. 
His  prize,  the  Maxwell,  was  received  by  the  Cuban 
authorities  and  handed  back  to  the  owners. 

From  this  point  Semmes  sailed  to  the  island  of 
Trinidad  where  he  had  another  contest  over  inter 
national  law  points  on  the  question  of  whether  coal 
was  contraband  of  war,  but  the  law  officers  of  the 
English  crown  decided  that  it  was  not.  There  was 
delay  in  making  up  their  minds,  but  Semmes  had 
"too  much  respect  for  the  calibre  of  certain  guns 
on  shore  to  throw  any  shells  across  the  windows  of 
the  council  chamber,"  remembering  that  this  was 
an  English  and  not  a  Dutch  possession. 

Having  put  his  fuel  aboard,  he  went  on  south 
ward,  touching  at  the  Guianas  on  the  way,  to  Ma- 
ranham,  Brazil,  about  two  and  a  half  degrees  south 
latitude,  on  September  6th.  Here  he  remained  un 
til  September  15th,  repairing  his  ship  and  taking 
on  supplies.  He  had  aimed,  as  at  the  start,  to 
make  Cape  St.  Eoque,  at  the  northeast  angle  of 
Brazil,  so  as  to  fall  upon  the  traders  as  they  rounded 
that  point  on  their  course  from  the  South  Atlantic 
to  New  York,  but  he  had  lost  so  much  time  that  it 


A  DOZEN  PEIZES  141 

seemed  unwise  to  continue  to  that  place.  At  that 
season  the  trade  winds  were  blowing  such  a  gale  off 
the  Cape  that  any  boat  could  escape  the  Sumter  if 
she  used  sail  only.  Coal  was  too  costly,  as  Semmes 
had  paid  $17.50  per  ton  at  Maranham.  But  from 
December  to  March  the  winds  would  be  only  mod 
erate  and  that  was  the  time  for  the  Sumter  to  oper 
ate  there.  He  decided  then  to  watch  the  crossing 
path  of  the  calm  belt  taken  by  sailing  vessels  bound 
for  New  York  and  other  northerly  ports  after  round 
ing  Cape  St.  Eoque.  He  made  northward  and  lay 
in  wait  along  the  diagonal  from,  the  southeast  to  the 
northwest  angles  of  a  quadrilateral  covering  seven 
degrees  of  latitude  and  six  degrees  of  longitude, 
formed  by  the  parallels  of  2£°  and  9$°  north,  and 
the  meridians  of  41 2°  and  47 2°  west.  But  it  was 
useless  as  the  "  wary  sea  birds  had  evidently  all 
taken  the  alarm  and  winged  their  way  home  by 
other  routes.'7 

He  then  set  out  for  the  West  Indies  to  hunt  there 
for  a  while  and  then  go  to  Martinique  for  coal.  On 
the  path,  in  the  last  days  of  October,  he  caught  the 
Daniel  Trowbridge,  a  lucky  warehouse  for  him,  as 
he  transferred  enough  food  from  her  to  serve  for 
the  next  five  months — "beef,  pork,  canvased  hams, 
ship  bread,  fancy  crackers,  cheese,  flour,  everything 


142  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

being  of  the  very  best  quality."  Then  he  gave  her 
to  the  flames,  and  went  on  with  the  chase,  gradually 
wearing  toward  the  island  of  Martinique.  On  the 
9th  of  November  he  "  ran  along  down  it,  near 
enough  to  enjoy  its  beautiful  scenery,  with  its  wav 
ing  palms,  fields  of  sugar  cane,  and  picturesque 
country  houses,  until  we  reached  the  quiet  little 
town  of  Fort  de  France,"  the  capital,  and  there  he 
anchored. 

Semmes  had  been  afloat  on  the  waters  of  the 
world,  moving  as  he  willed,  had  made  twelve  cap 
tures,  and  had  come  in  contact  with  no  armed  foe. 
This  had  not  been  due  to  simple  good  luck  on  his 
part  or  to  remissness  on  the  side  of  the  United 
States.  It  had  been  eternal  vigilance  with  him 
and  unwearied  pursuit  with  them.  The  wildest 
rumors  filled  the  air  that  the  Sumter  was  here,  was 
there,  was  even  in  the  English  channel.  To  the  in 
terested  and  thinking  ones  her  course  baffled  all 
conjecture,  and  in  their  perplexity  they  naturally 
turned  to  government  authorities.  Especially  the 
merchants  trading  southward  were  anxious  and 
alarmed,  and  immediately  began  to  ask  for  protec 
tion.  Within  a  fortnight  after  Semmes  had  eluded 
the  Brooklyn  at  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  a 
senator  requested  a  convoy  for  a  boat  carrying  over 


A  DOZEN  PEIZES  143 

two  million  dollars  in  gold  on  its  passage  to  New 
York.  Other  appeals  came  in  for  the  care  of  the 
trade  with  Central  and  South  American  ports. 

Secretary  Welles,  Lincoln's  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  received  many  suggestions  and  much  advice. 
In  one  instance,  a  scheme  was  proposed  by  Alfred 
T.  Mahan,  then  a  midshipman.  After  apologizing 
for  "  youthful  presumption/'  he  recommended  to 
the  Secretary  that  a  decoy  ship  be  prepared  out  of 
some  of  the  "  confiscated  rebel  vessels,"  with  a 
heavy  pivot  gun  in  hiding  so  that  Semmes  would 
think  her  a  merchant  boat.  Then  when  she  ap 
proached  confidently  near  enough,  the  Sunder  could 
either  be  sunk  with  one  discharge,  or  boarded  and 
overcome.  Mahan  confessed  that  his  scheme  might 
appear  "  hare-brained,"  but  even  if  it  failed,  it  was 
only  the  loss  of  "a  useless  ship,  a  midshipman,  and 
a  hundred  men." 

By  the  middle  of  August,  one  of  the  captains 
urged  that  "a  smart  steamer  like  the  Iroquois,  with 
a  smart  captain,  .  .  .  would  stand  a  good 
chance  for  catching  the  Sumter  or  for  badgering  her 
into  port  in  a  very  short  time,"  if  he  made  a  circuit 
of  about  five  hundred  miles  around  Cuba.1  Palmer, 
of  the  Iroquois,  got  this  assignment  and  we  shall 
1 " Naval  War  Records,"  Series  I,  Vol.  I,  p.  62. 


144  BAPHAEL  SEMMES 

see  later  that  at  St.  Pierre  he  caught  the  Sumter  in 
port,  but  with  no  profit,  since  he  suffered  when  she 
slipped  away  from  him  one  night. 

Welles  was  neither  idle  nor  vague,  and  still  less 
was  he  distracted  from  the  tasks  of  his  office  by  the 
cries  from  the  counting-house.  He  knew  that  a 
rigid  blockade  of  the  Southern  coast  was  far  more 
deadly  to  the  South  than  the  capture  of  this  one 
rover.  But  he  detached  as  many  boats  for  the 
chase  as  he  could,  and  he  was  peremptory  in  his 
orders  that  the  hunt  should  go  on  relentlessly  until 
the  "  pirate  Sumter  "  was  checked  in  her  career,  or 
some  definite  news  was  obtained  of  her  end. 

He  was  heartily  seconded  by  the  few  naval  officers 
who  could  be  spared  from  the  home  service.  One 
of  them,  Captain  Eytinge,  of  the  Shepherd  Knapp, 
"  made  the  entire  circuit  of  the  West  India  Islands 
three  several  times,  going  as  far  to  eastward  as  the 
Leeward  Islands,  as  far  to  westward  as  Abaco,  and 
nearly  as  far  north  as  the  Bermudas. "  He  hailed 
every  boat  of  every  nationality  he  met.  He  was 
aflame  to  "pursue  the  traitor,"  even  into  the 
Mediterranean  Sea,  with  which  he  said  that  he  was 
thoroughly  acquainted.  He  begged  for  this  privi 
lege.  u I  am  ready,"  he  declared,  "  to  sacrifice  my 
life  to  sustain  my  country's  honor. " 


145 

But  the  keenest  pursuer  of  Semmes  was  Porter, 
afterward  the  great  admiral.  He  recaptured 
Senames'  ninth  prize,  the  Abby  Bradford,  on 
August  13,  1861,  as  she  was  trying  to  steal  into 
New  Orleans.  From  information  he  received,  he 
was  very  confident  that  Semmes  "is  in  a  position 
now  where  he  can't  escape  if  properly  looked  after. 
He  is  out  of  coal  and  out  of  credit."  Porter  left 
for  Pensacola  at  once  to  carry  in  his  news  and  to 
ask  the  privilege  of  going  after  the  Sumter.  This 
was  granted  him  and  he  instantly  made  for  the 
Caribbean  Sea,  through  which  he  cruised,  touching 
at  Cienfuegos,  at  Puerto  Cabello,  at  Barbadoes,  at 
Trinidad,  at  Cayenne,  at  Curacoa,  and  at  Surinam, 
all  places  where  Semmes  had  called. 

Neither  trick  nor  subterfuge  could  throw  him  off 
the  scent.  At  Surinam  he  was  assured  that  the 
Sumter  had  gone  to  Jamaica  to  return  after  three 
weeks,  but  he  shrewdly  divined  that  Semmes  was 
feeling  his  way  down  to  Cape  St.  Boque,  as  he  was, 
and  Porter  set  off  thither  himself.  He  was  hopeful, 
as  he  could  go  fifty  miles  a  day  further  than  Semmes. 
He  traced  the  Sumter  into  Maranham,  missing  her 
off  that  port  by  only  three  days,  and  getting  into 
the  harbor  of  San  Luiz  only  five  days  after  she  had 
departed.  He  raked  Maranham  for  every  scrap  of 


146  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

information  and  again  guessed  Serames'  movements 
correctly.  He  learned  that  the  Sumter  had  knocked 
off  her  false  keel,  coming  up  the  inlet,  and  inferred 
therefore  that  she  could  not  make  St.  Eoque,  but 
had  gone  north  of  the  equator.  He  steered  for  the 
track  of  northward  bound  vessels  on  their  passage 
to  New  York,  about  44°  west  longitude,  in  the  heart 
of  the  quadrilateral  that  Sernines  had  marked  out 
for  himself  to  cruise  over  for  those  very  boats  that 
Porter  had  in  mind.  So  clear  was  Porter  in  his 
reasoning,  and  so  energetic  in  his  movements,  that 
he  calculated  that  at  one  time  he  was  within  seventy- 
five  miles  of  the  Sumter,  while  Sernrnes  estimated  that 
they  were  only  fifty  miles  apart. 

Porter  had  not  only  exerted  himself  to  the  utmost, 
but  he  had  also  advocated  that  others  be  put  at  the 
work.  He  indicated  routes  around  the  islands  of 
the  Spanish  main  for  the  constant  policing  of  eight 
ships.  Later,  when  he  learned  of  Semmes'  inten 
tion  to  burn  all  captures,  he  warmly  advised  that 
one  hundred  boats  be  sent  out  to  thwart  such  a  de 
structive  aim. 

Like  his  wily  adversary,  he  was  embarrassed  by 
the  aloofness  of  the  neutral  powers,  and  thought 
them,  especially  France  and  England,  very  solicit 
ous  for  the  welfare  of  the  Sumter  and  her  cause. 


A  DOZEN  PEIZES  147 

Again  like  Semmes,  he  valiantly  carried  on  verbal 
duels  over  points  of  international  law,  though  per 
haps  not  with  the  skill  and  incisiveness  of  Semmes, 
as  he  had  not  made  such  a  study  of  the  law  and  of 
public  relations. 

But  in  spite  of  the  comprehensiveness  of  his 
plans,  in  spite  of  his  unerring  instinct  on  the  trail, 
Porter  finally  had  only  regrets  to  offer  his  superiors 
for  the  futility  of  his  chase. 


CHAPTEE  VIII 

SECOND  ESCAPE  AND  END  OF  THE  " SUMTER  " 

IF  Semmes  had  known  of  all  these  schemes  and 
manceuvers  he  might  not  have  rested  so  comfortably 
in  the  French  port  of  Fort  de  France.  He  and  his 
officers  were  treated  with  all  consideration  and 
special  entertainments  were  prepared  for  them. 
They  walked,  they  rode,  they  feasted,  and  they 
danced.  The  crew  also  went  on  land,  and  each 
spent  his  sovereign  for  grog. 

But  Semmes'  pen  had  its  usual  international  task 
to  perform.  He  had  to  buy  coal.  His  paymaster 
found  it  in  the  near-by  town  of  St.  Pierre,  but  the 
customs  official  refused  him  the  privilege  of  pur 
chasing  it.  Semmes  sent  a  polite  note  to  the  gov 
ernor,  and  at  once  got  an  order  overruling  the 
zealous  but  ignorant  collector  there.  As  soon  as 
he  had  watered  his  ship  from  the  public  reservoir, 
he  got  up  steam  and  was  very  quickly  in  the  harbor 
of  the  chief  city  of  the  Island  of  Martinique,  St. 
Pierre,  whose  total  destruction  with  her  population 


SECOND  ESCAPE  149 

of  forty  thousand  some  two  score  of  years  later 
startled  all  humanity. 

He  instantly  began  to  take  on  fuel ;  but,  swift 
as  he  was,  in  less  than  two  days  an  energetic  enemy, 
the  United  States  war  vessel,  Iroquols,  glided  into 
the  same  haven.  She  was  twice  as  large  as  the 
Sumter  and  much  swifter,  and  her  captain,  James 
S.  Palmer,  was  active  and  determined.  He  was 
under  special  orders  to  catch  the  Sumter  and  had 
been  anxiously  cruising  from  point  to  point  in  those 
waters  for  weeks.  Actuated  by  duty  and  spurred 
by  ambition  he  was  prepared  to  violate  inter 
national  law,  and  offend  a  friendly  nation  in  order 
to  crush  this  * i  pest  of  commerce. "  He  lectured  the 
French  governor  on  his  obligations,  and  was  re 
buked  by  a  diplomatic  answer  in  which  the  gov 
ernor  said  that  he  knew  what  he  was  about.  Pal 
mer  confessed  to  his  superior  officer  that  he  had 
trangressed  some  of  the  rules  of  war  himself,  but 
said  that  the  French  would  have  to  "  pocket  this." 
He  was  bold  and  resourceful,  but  he  was  pitted 
against  a  skilled  antagonist.  Palmer  came  in  and 
all  night  "  cruised  around  the  harbor  within  half 
a  gunshot  of"  the  Sumter,  so  close  at  times  in  fact 
that  Semmes  had  his  force  under  arms  to  repel 
attack.  Later  he  actually  anchored,  but  immedi- 


150  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

ately  pulled  up  on  learning  officially  from  a  French 
naval  officer  who  had  come  011  board  that  uone 
belligerent  could  not  depart  till  twenty -four  hours 
after  the  other."  Palmer,  fearing  the  Sumter 
might  leave  before  he  did,  hastened  away  so 
quickly  that  he  bore  his  guest  out  to  sea  with  him 
before  he  could  take  boat  to  leave.  Here  he  kept 
guard  some  seven  or  eight  miles  out  by  day,  and 
less  than  three  by  night,  or  so  it  seemed  to  Semmes. 
During  the  while  he  communicated  with  sympa 
thetic  aids  on  shore  by  boat  or  sign.  He  also  ar 
ranged  with  a  Maine  schooner  to  signal  him  the 
course  of  the  Sumter  when  she  should  start  away. 

In  the  meanwhile  Semmes  was,  if  possible,  more 
alert.  Both  made  representations  to  the  French 
governor.  Each  believed  that  he  favored  the  other, 
while  the  islanders  broke  into  two  parties  in  their 
sympathies.  Semmes'  steady  fusillade  of  notes  and 
protests  did  not  interfere  with  his  material  oper 
ations.  He  heeled  his  ship  and  scraped  her.  He 
had  his  machinery  overhauled,  his  pumps  repaired, 
his  batteries  drawn  and  reloaded,  his  small  arms 
cleaned,  his  barrels  filled  with  fresh  water,  some 
heavy  wet  provisions  shifted  so  as  to  make  better 
sailing.  He  keenly  scanned  the  skies  for  a  cloudj 
night,  constantly  apprehending  that  a  second  vessel 


SECOND  ESCAPE  151 

would  come  to  the  assistance  of  the  Iroquois,  thus 
bottling  him  up  effectually.  On  the  ninth  day 
after  his  entrance,  it  began  about  noon  to  rain  and 
he  counted  on  an  overcast  sky  for  that  evening,  but 
the  sun  set  fair.  He  could  delay  no  longer.  Like 
his  prototype  on  land,  Stonewall  Jackson,  he  kept 
his  plans  in  his  own  bosom,  divulging  no  more  of 
them  than  necessary.  He  had  ordered  every  man 
to  be  on  board  by  sunset.  At  the  sound  of  the 
eight  o'clock  gun  on  shore,  following  previous 
orders,  the  chain  was  slipped,  the  rope  cut  and  the 
engines  started,  and  the  Sumter  began  her  second 
race  for  liberty. 

Semmes  penned  in  his  diary  this  lively  account 
of  how  he  eluded  the  Iroquois  : 

"The  enemy  being  on  the  starboard  bow,  and 
apparently  standing  toward  the  north  point  of  the 
roadstead,  I  headed  her  for  the  south  point,  giv 
ing  her  full  steam.  So  much  on  the  qui  vive 
were  the  townspeople  that  we  had  scarcely  moved 
twenty  yards  when  a  shout  rent  the  air  and  there 
was  a  confused  murmur  of  voices  as  if  Babel  had 
been  let  loose.  As  we  neared  the  French  steamer 
of  war,  Acheron,  signals  were  made  to  the  enemy 
by  means  of  blue  lights  from  one  of  the  Yankee 
schooners  in  port,  perceiving  which  and  knowing 
that  the  signals  were  so  arranged  as  to  designate 
our  direction,  after  running  a  few  hundred  yards 
further,  I  doubled  and  came  back,  under  cover  of 


152  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

the  land,  where  I  stopped  once  or  twice  to  assure 
myself  that  the  enemy  was  continuing  his  course 
in  the  opposite  direction  in  obedience  to  his  signals, 
when,  as  soon  as  the  engineer  could  do  so  (for  he 
had  to  cool  his  bearings,  and  this  was  an  anxious 
moment  for  me),  I  gave  her  all  steam  and  stood  for 
the  north  end  of  the  island.  As  we  approached  it 
the  fates,  which  before  had  seemed  uupropitious  for 
us,  began  to  smile,  and  a  rain  squall  which  had 
come  up  quite  unexpectedly  began  to  envelop  us  in 
its  friendly  fold,  shutting  in  our  dense  clouds  of 
black  smoke,  which  were  really  the  worst  telltales 
we  had  to  dread.  The  first  half  hour's  run  was  a 
very  anxious  one  for  us ;  but  as  we  began  to  lose 
sight  of  the  lights  of  the  town,  and  to  draw  away 
from  the  land,  we  knew  that  the  enemy  had  been 
caught  in  his  own  trap,  and  that  we  had  successfully 
eluded  him.  .  .  .  Our  ship  made  good  speed, 
though  she  was  very  deep,  and  by  11 : 30  we  were 
up  with  the  south  end  of  Dominica.  Here  the 
wind  fell  and  we  ran  along  the  coast  of  the  island 
in  a  smooth  sea,  not  more  than  four  or  five  miles 
from  the  land.  The  moon  by  this  time  being  up, 
the  bold  and  picturesque  outlines  of  this  island, 
softened  by  her  rays  and  wreathed  in  fleecy  clouds, 
presented  a  beautiful  night  scene.  .  .  .  Our 
run  took  every  one  by  surprise  ;  several  of  the  offi 
cers  had  breakfast  and  riding  appointments  for 
several  days  ahead." 

By  the  next  morning,  Sunday,  Semmes  thought 
he  was  at  least  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from 
the  Iroquois,  and  so  relieved  was  his  soul  that  he 
relaxed  discipline,  omitted  the  muster  and  allowed 
a  day  of  rest.  By  evening  he  was  far  out  on  the 


SECOND  ESCAPE  153 

rolling  waves,  free  as  the  winds,  troubled  no  longer 
with  points  of  law,  peacefully  smoking  his  cigar 
among  his  officers,  and  recalling  a  couplet : 

"  Far  as  the  breeze  can  bear,  the  billow  foam, 
Survey  our  empire,  and  behold  our  home." 

Serene  and  poetic,  Semmes  could  afford  to  render 
highest  tribute  to  "  the  vigilance  and  skill  "  of  his 
gallant  opponent,  who  suffered  " great  dejection" 
at  his  failure.  Newspaper  clamor,  however,  was 
not  satisfied  till  Palmer  was  relieved  from  command, 
but  on  investigation  he  was  exonerated,  restored  to 
his  post,  and  two  years  after  the  close  of  the  conflict 
died  a  rear-admiral  in  the  United  States  naval 
service. 

Semmes  had  pretty  well  scattered  the  game  in 
this  field,  so  he  had  to  widen  his  range  and  cross 
the  Atlantic  to  see  what  he  could  find  in  European 
regions.  On  the  way  he  captured  and  bonded  the 
Montmorenci.  Shortly  afterward  he  caught  the 
Arcade,  from  Maine  bound  for  Guadeloupe,  and 
she  and  her  cargo  of  staves  were  soon  afire  and 
lighting  the  Sumter  on  her  way. 

Early  in  December,  the  Vigilant,  also  from  Maine, 
loaded  with  "mineral  guano,"  met  the  same  fate. 
The  anniversary  of  Semmes'  escape  from  the  Somers 


154  RAPHAEL  SEMMES 

in  the  Mexican  War,  off  Vera  Cruz,  was  signalized 
by  the  capture  and  firing  of  the  Eben  Dodge,  from 
Massachusetts. 

The  easterly  winds  beat  in  his  face,  a  raging  storm 
almost  sank  him,  but  he  held  steadily  on  until  early 
in  January,  1862,  he  dropped  anchor  in  the  harbor 
of  Cadiz,  and  instantly  began  his  battles  with  the 
pen.  He  courteously  notified  the  consul  of  the 
United  States  that  he  had  forty-three  prisoners, 
fellow-citizens  of  the  consul,  whom  he  wished  to 
deliver  to  him,  but  getting  a  reply  without  the  offi 
cial  title  Semmes  broke  off  communication.  He 
was  forced  to  take  up  the  issue  of  belligerent  rights 
with  the  Spanish  authorities,  as  he  was  peremptorily 
ordered  to  depart  within  twenty-four  hours.  He 
formally  protested  and  asked  for  the  opportunity 
to  make  all  repairs  that  were  necessary  to  enable 
him  to  take  to  the  high  seas  again.  He  won  his 
case,  as,  under  the  circumstances,  his  position  was 
impregnable,  but  not  till  much  red  tape  had  been 
unwound  by  the  "  circumlocution  office." 

The  Sumter  was  put  in  one  of  the  best  of  docks. 
She  was  found  to  be  sound  as  to  hull,  the  accident 
at  Maranham  having  rubbed  off  only  a  small  part  of 
her  copper,  and  having  indented,  not  broken,  one 
of  her  planks.  The  leak  that  had  been  trouble- 


SECOND  ESCAPE  155 

some  was  located  in  the  propeller  sleeve.  Nothing 
was  done  to  tlie  boilers,  as  the  inspectors  decided 
they  could  be  used  for  an  ocean  trip. 

Several  of  his  crew  deserted  and  Semmes,  being 
informed  that  they  were  being  lodged  at  the  United 
States  consulate,  again  opened  up  argument  as  to 
the  legality  of  such  a  refuge.  He  firmly  grounded 
his  plea  on  the  custom  of  all  nations  to  arrest  and 
return  deserters  from  ships  of  war  without  making 
any  inquiry  into  the  nationality  of  the  runaways, 
and  as  Spain  had  granted  the  Confederate  states 
belligerent  footing,  it  was  plainly  the  duty  of 
the  authorities  to  aid  him  in  recapturing  his  run 
away  sailors.  To  permit  them  to  remain  under 
the  protection  of  the  consul  of  the  United  States 
"  would  in  effect  convert  the  consulate  into  a  camp, 
and  enable  the  consul  to  exercise  the  rights  of  a  bel 
ligerent  in  neutral  territory.  He  might  cripple  me 
as  effectually  by  this  indirect  means  as  if  he  were 
to  assault  me  by  means  of  an  armed  expedition." 
Perhaps  Semmes  himself  hardly  expected  anything 
to  come  from  this  remonstrance ;  at  any  rate  he  got 
nothing.  Under  the  teachings  of  international  law, 
the  consulate  was  United  States  territory  and  Spain 
could  not  afford  to  violate  one  of  the  widely  accepted 
principles  of  the  relations  of  nations. 


156  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

Spain  seemed  almost  hysterical  over  the  presence 
of  the  Sumter,  and  as  she  came  to  anchor,  began 
urging  Semmes  to  depart.  The  repairs  had  been 
made  very  grudgingly,  and  shortly  afterward  he 
was  ordered  to  sail  away.  He  needed  coal  and  his 
funds  were  exhausted.  He  despatched  word  to  the 
Confederate  agent,  but  received  no  answer.  Finally 
one  morning,  before  Semmes  had  got  out  of  bed,  a 
peremptory  order  came  from  the  governor  "to  de 
part  within  six  hours."  Semmes  says :  "I  went  on 
shore,  for  the  first  time,  to  have  an  official  inter 
view  with  the  blockhead.  I  found  him  .  .  . 
a  large,  thick-set,  bull-necked  fellow  with  whom 
.  .  .  it  would  be  of  but  little  use  to  reason." 
The  most  he  would  yield  was  to  ask  from  the  au 
thorities  in  Madrid  that  Semmes  should  be  granted 
the  privilege  of  remaining  in  Cadiz  until  a  remit 
tance  could  come,  but  he  declared  if  no  reply  came 
within  six  hours,  the  Sumter  must  get  under  way. 

Semmes  was  highly  indignant  and  resolved  to  go 
with  the  small  amount  of  coal  on  hand  and  put 
into  Gibraltar.  As  he  was  getting  ready  an  official 
came  aboard  to  report  that  the  Queen  had  ordered 
that  the  time  limit  be  put  at  twenty-four  hours  in 
stead  of  six  and  that  the  governor  was  drawing  up 
a  formal  paper  to  send  on  board.  Semmes  treated 


SECOND  ESCAPE  157 

the  concession  very  carelessly,  and  set  off,  but  as  he 
was  passing  the  government  honse  a  boat  came 
rapidly  toward  him  "  with  a  man  standing  up  in 
the  bow  shaking  a  letter  at  us  with  great  vehe 
mence."  Eeceiving  no  attention  the  boat  turned 
about,  and  Seinmes  left  the  Spanish  dominions  for 
the  second  and  last  time.  He  had  suffered  exasper 
ating  delays  and  contemptuous  rebuffs. 

At  dawn  the  next  day,  while  moving  up  the 
Strait,  he  overhauled  two  sail,  the  Neapolitan  and 
the  Investigator.  The  latter  having  neutral  cargo 
aboard  was  bonded  ;  the  former  having  fifty  tons  of 
sulphur,  consigned  to  Boston,  was  given  to  the 
torch.  Here  within  one  of  the  most  historical 
gateways  of  the  earth,  viewed  by  the  Moor  and  the 
Spaniard,  was  an  exhibition  that  called  forth  sketch 
book  and  pencil,  and  the  artists  were  busy  delineat 
ing  one  of  the  most  remarkable  spectacles  of  the 
ages.  Some  time  after  dark,  the  Sumter  brought  to 
under  the  shadow  of  the  renowned  Eock  of  Gibral 
tar,  but  no  man  knew  that  she  had  made  her  last 
voyage  under  the  Confederate  flag. 

Here  she  and  her  master  and  crew  were  at  rest  for 
nearly  three  months,  in  much  more  congenial  com 
pany  than  at  Cadiz  ;  for,  instead  of  the  forbidding 
countenance  of  the  Spaniard,  the  English  turned  to 


158  RAPHAEL  SEMMES 

the  visitors  a  face  as  friendly  as  the  official  formali 
ties  would  permit  to  a  mere  belligerent.  Sernmes 
and  his  ward-room  received  all  the  social  courtesies 
possible.  They  visited  and  were  visited,  clubs  and 
reading-rooms  were  thrown  open  to  them,  mili 
tary  and  citizenry  invited  them  to  all  festivities. 
Sernrnes  was  shown  over  the  fortifications  as  far  as 
any  outsider  was  privileged  to  go,  and  he  noted  that 
whenever  he  appeared  in  his  uniform  he  was  always 
saluted  by  the  guards.  In  fact  no  distinction  was 
drawn  between  the  Confederates  and  Federals  ex 
cept  that  the  flag  of  the  former  was  not  saluted, 
being  recognized  only  for  warlike  purposes. 

As  far  as  the  usage  of  nations  would  at  all  permit 
it,  the  English  aided  him.  Within  twenty-four 
hours  after  his  official  landing  he  got  an  anchor 
from  the  naval  officer.  Even  this  delay  was  not  a 
persona]  choice,  but  to  give  time  for  the  law  officers 
to  pass  upon  the  request.  No  doubt  the  same 
generosity  would  have  been  extended  in  arresting 
his  deserters,  but  in  the  absence  of  any  treaty 
between  England  and  the  Southern  states,  the 
authorities  could  not  see  their  way  clear  to  do  any 
thing. 

Doubtless  there  was  the  same  private  inclination 
toward  him  on  the  question  of  supplying  him  with 


SECOND  ESCAPE  159 

coal  from  the  government  stores,  but  again  the  legal 
branch,  this  time  at  headquarters  in  London,  de 
cided  adversely.  Immediately  after  securing  funds, 
the  first  week  in  February,  Semmes  wanted  to 
restock  the  Sumier,  but  was  baffled  at  every  turn  by 
the  combination  among  the  dealers  not  to  sell  to 
him  at  all  or  only  at  prohibitive  prices.  The  alert 
and  resourceful  consul  of  the  United  States,  with 
his  prestige  and  his  commercial  influence,  knew 
how  completely  the  Sumter's  wings  would  be  clipped 
if  she  remained  without  fuel.  Semmes,  in  his  wrath, 
believed  that  the  consul  stopped  at  neither  flattery 
nor  cajolery,  at  neither  bribery  nor  corruption ;  but 
even  if  he  did,  he  had  the  sanction  of  the  ages  past 
and  the  endorsement  of  untold  precedents,  all 
summed  up  in  the  terse  maxim  that  "all  is  fair  in 
love  and  war." 

Semmes,  however,  was  as  fertile  in  expedients, 
and  as  undaunted  before  difficulties  as  any  man. 
He  drew  on  his  reservoir  of  legal  knowledge  and 
sent  a  despatch  to  the  English  officials  stating  his 
dilemma  and  desiring  the  right  of  purchase  from 
the  government  stores,  advancing  the  very  shrewd 
analogy  of  a  ship  coming  into  port  without  provi 
sions,  and  being  unable  to  buy  from  private  firms. 
Certainly  in  such  case  the  public  authorities  would 


160  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

aid  her  from  the  public  stock.  Coal  had  been  de 
clared  u innoxious"  by  the  Foreign  Secretary  in 
London,  and  hence  the  Gibraltar  officials  would  have 
just  as  much  excuse  to  supply  him  with  a  hundred 
tons  or  so  as  to  help  a  starving  ship  with  provisions, 
or  a  disabled  one  with  a  mast.  At  Cadiz  the  Sumter 
had  been  repaired  in  a  government  dock  because 
there  was  no  private  one  there  ;  why  could  not  she 
be  loaded  with  public  coal  in  Gibraltar  when  none 
was  to  be  had  from  private  hands  ?  It  was  a  strong 
argument,  skilfully  put,  but  all  to  no  purpose. 

Hearing  that  there  was  a  chance  at  Cadiz,  he 
ordered  his  paymaster  to  go  there,  in  the  company 
of  a  Southerner  who  had  served  as  United  States 
consul  at  that  place,  on  board  a  French  vessel. 
While  stopping  at  Tangier,  on  the  Moorish  coast, 
these  two  gentlemen  walked  into  the  town,  and  were 
arrested  by  the  local  police  at  the  instance  of  the 
United  States  consul  who  claimed  them  for  "  the 
crime  of  treason  or  for  robbery  on  the  high  seas." 
They  were  put  in  irons,  but  the  paymaster,  Myers, 
"got  the  irons  off  and  jumped  out  of  the  second 
story  of  the  consulate,  .  .  .  got  over  the  wall 
into  the  house  of  a  Moor,  and  was  again  arrested." 
The  natives  arranged  a  demonstration  in  their  favor, 
but  they  were  soon  transferred  to  a  naval  vessel, 


SECOND  ESCAPE  161 

and  carried  to  Cadiz  and  thence  forwarded  on  a 
merchantman  to  the  United  States. 

In  the  meantime,  Semmes  had  acted  with  all  his 
native  energy  and  well-known  eloquence.  He  de 
manded  of  the  Tangier  governor  the  release  of  the 
men,  and  tried  to  get  the  Sumter  ready  for  serious 
action,  but  found  that  her  boilers  would  not  bear  a 
greater  pressure  than  twelve  pounds.  He  then 
sought  to  enlist  the  aid  of  the  English  representative 
in  Gibraltar,  and  urged  him  to  ask  the  English 
diplomatic  agent  in  Tangier  to  use  his  influence 
with  the  semi-civilized  Moors  to  set  the  victims 
free.  Semmes  contended  that  as  both  countries 
were  recognized  as  belligerents,  it  was  unfair  for 
the  Moors  to  aid  one  side.  Though  there  was  a 
treaty  with  the  United  States,  it  did  not  cover 
political  offenses.  But  the  British  consul  and 
the  representatives  of  all  the  civilized  lands  there 
deemed  it  best  to  keep  hands  off,  and  refrained 
from  offering  any  advice.  Semmes  wrote  to  the 
British  consul,  and  very  lucidly  stated  the  case. 
"  If  Morocco  adopts  the  status  given  to  the  Confed 
erate  states  by  Europe,  she  must  remain  neutral  be 
tween  the  two  belligerents,  not  undertaking  to  judge 
of  the  nationality  of  the  citizens  of  either  of  them, 
or  to  decide  any  other  question  growing  out  of  the 


162  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

war  which  does  not  concern  her  own  interests.  She 
has  no  right  therefore  to  adjudge  a  citizen  of  the 
Confederate  states  to  be  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States  ;  and  not  having  this  right  herself  she  cannot 
convey  it  by  treaty  to  the  United  States  to  be  exer 
cised  by  their  consul  in  Tangier." 

All  of  this  clear  logic  did  not  move  the  recipient 
to  do  more  than  tell  the  Moors  that  he  had  no  sugges 
tion  to  advance  to  them.  But  Semmes  had  one  more 
scheme.  He  tried  to  get  some  action  by  the  French 
government,  and  sent  a  strong  argument  to  Slidell, 
the  Confederate  agent  in  Paris,  urging  that  the 
honor  of  the  French  flag  was  involved,  inasmuch 
as  both  of  the  men  had  been  passengers  on  a  French 
boat  and  had  merely  touched  on  land.  If  Morocco 
had  been  among  the  family  of  European  nations,  of 
course  the  two  travelers  would  have  come  under  the 
land  jurisdiction  immediately,  but  as  it  was,  the 
French  consul  had  authority  of  trial  of  all  offenses 
in  which  Frenchmen  were  involved.  If  they  had 
been  Frenchmen,  their  case  would  have  been  taken 
before  the  consul  as  judge.  If  the  flag  would  have 
protected  Frenchmen  on  that  vessel,  why  should  it 
not  also  throw  its  folds  around  these  two  passengers 
who  had  embarked  on  it  in  good  faith  that  they 
would  be  guaranteed  against  unjust  molestation. 


SECOND  ESCAPE  163 

All  Seinines'  legal  shrewdness  and  training  came 
to  naught,  as  neither  the  French  nor  the  English 
would  stir  in  the  matter.  But  the  strength  of  his 
position  was  virtually  admitted  by  the  United 
States,  as  both  men  were  set  free  in  a  few  mouths 
after  their  arrival  in  Boston,  where  they  were 
treated  as  prisoners  of  war. 

In  the  meanwhile,  amid  all  this  verbal  battling 
on  international  law  points,  Semrnes'  attention  was 
seriously  drawn  to  the  condition  of  the  Sumter.  He 
had  been  unable  to  use  force  against  the  Moors  be 
cause  of  the  weakness  of  her  boilers.  He  had 
hoped,  when  he  came  into  a  port  of  so  much  traffic 
as  Gibraltar,  that  he  could  replace  them  with  a  new 
set,  but  none  were  available  for  him.  He  had  been 
tied  up  there  by  lack  of  funds,  but  when  some  six 
teen  thousand  dollars  were  remitted  to  him  he  was 
still  unable  to  take  the  aggressive,  not  only  because 
of  the  defect  in  his  machinery,  but  because  she  was 
blockaded  for  the  third  and  last  time.  He  could 
see  only  inaction  for  several  months  at  least,  and 
that  was  galling  to  his  nature.  There  remained 
only  abandonment  of  the  Sumter,  and  subsequent 
service  elsewhere.  She  had  gallantly  done  her  part. 
She  had  taken  eighteen  ships,  and  though  Semmes, 
contrary  to  his  expectations,  had  captured  very 


164  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

little  money,  about  a  thousand  dollars  only,  her  ex 
pense  to  the  government  had  been  slight,  only 
about  $28,000.  Only  seven  of  the  prizes  were 
burned,  but  the  damage  to  commerce  was  incalcula 
ble,  as  the  alarm  spread  out  of  all  proportion  to  the 
destruction,  and  the  carrying  trade  was  already  be 
ginning  to  be  seriously  crippled.  Besides  she  drew 
off  some  half  a  dozen  cruisers  from  the  blockading 
line  along  the  Southern  coast.  But,  useful  as  she 
had  been,  her  career  was  over,  and  the  routine  proc 
ess  of  ending  her  course  was  rapidly  followed.  A 
board  of  survey  pronounced  her  uuseaworthy  in  her 
boilers,  and  the  officers  voted  unanimously  in  favor 
of  laying  her  up. 

It  was  a  painful  wrench  to  Semmes7  heart  to  en 
dorse  this  view  and  forward  the  request  to  his  su 
perior  in  London.  He  had  become  attached  to  the 
ship,  as  she  had  brought  him  through  many  dan 
gers.  His  whole  nature  was  thrown  into  his  trib 
ute:  uShe  had  run  me  safely  through  two  vigilant 
blockades,  had  weathered  many  storms,  and  rolled 
me  to  sleep  in  many  calms.  Her  cabin  was  my 
bedroom  and  my  study,  both  in  one,  her  quarter 
deck  was  my  promenade,  and  her  masts,  spars  and 
sails  my  playthings." 

Tender   relations  had  been  established  between 


SECOND  ESCAPE  165 

him  and  the  force  under  him.  As  he  remarks,  "  The 
commander  of  a  ship  is  more  or  less  in  the  position 
of  a  father  of  a  family.  He  necessarily  forms  an 
attachment  for  those  who  have  served  under  him. " 
The  bond  of  comradeship  is  also  an  additional  link. 
"When  men  have  been  drenched  and  wind-beaten 
in  the  same  storm,  have  stood  on  the  deck  of  the 
same  frail  little  ship,  with  only  a  plank  between 
them  and  eternity,  and  watched  her  battling  with 
the  elements,  which  threaten  every  moment  to  over 
whelm  her,  there  is  a  feeling  of  brotherhood  that 
springs  up  between  them  that  it  is  difficult  for  a 
landsman  to  conceive." 

These  memories  and  associations,  abstract  and 
invisible  though  they  be,  are  often  more  powerful 
than  cables  of  steel.  In  spite  of  the  pangs  it 
brought  to  sunder  them,  preparations  went  for 
ward,  and  before  the  middle  of  April,  1862,  the 
men  that  had  manned  the  Sumter  dispersed,  leaving 
her  in  charge  of  a  midshipman.  She  was  sold  in  a 
month  or  so,  and  her  name  changed  to  Gibraltar. 
She  finally  met  her  fate  in  the  North  Sea,  and  "  her 
bones  lie  interred  not  far  from  those  of  the  Ala 
bama." 


CHAPTEE  IX 

ON  THE   "  ALABAMA"   AMONG  THE  WHALERS 

"  THE  Alabama  was  the  first  steamship  in  the 
history  of  the  world — the  defective  little  Sumter  ex- 
cepted — that  was  let  loose  against  the  commerce  of 
a  great  commercial  people.  The  destruction  which 
she  caused  was  enormous.  She  .  .  .  became 
famous.  It  was  the  fame  of  steam."  In  these 
direct  terms,  her  daring  commander  does  not  over 
state  her  wonderful  career  or  the  portentousness  of 
her  achievements. 

Semmes  had  no  hand  in  her  building  or  in  her 
dash  for  liberty  from  the  shipyard  on  the  Mersey. 
J.  D.  Bullock,  the  Confederate  agent  in  EDgland, 
had  bargained  with  an  English  firm  for  the  con 
struction  of  a  boat  according  to  specifications  he 
furnished.  It  was  the  two  hundred  and  ninetieth 
order  on  their  books  since  they  had  begun  their 
business  and  hence  on  their  records  she  was  Num 
ber  290 — an  innocent  name  that  was  seized  upon  by 
thoughtless  writers  and  speakers  in  the  United 
States  as  an  insult  from  Confederate  sympathizers 


ON  THE  <  <  ALABAMA  >  '  167 

in  England,  since  they  thus  boldly  proclaimed  that 
two  hundred  and  ninety  of  them  had  contributed  to 
pay  the  expense  of  the  fabrication  of  this  marine 
destroyer.  Bullock  watched  over  her  birth  and 
growth  with  the  interest  of  a  fond  father,  as  he  was 
slated  to  command  her.  He  would  doubtless  have 
made  a  brilliant  history  for  her  and  himself,  as  the 
Confederacy  was  served  abroad  by  no  abler  or  more 
honorable  man  than  he;  but  when  his  superiors 
gave  the  berth  to  Seinnies,  Bullock  murmured  not, 
and  cheerfully  put  in  his  claim  for  the  next  one 
that  might  be  launched.  He  was  never  to  serve  on 
the  water,  however  ;  he  was  too  much  needed  on 
land.  Even  with  him  in  charge,  it  was  only  by  the 
narrowest  margin  that  the  Alabama  escaped,  since 
both  the  consul  at  Liverpool  and  the  minister  to 
England  were  most  alert  and  watchful.  Evidence 
was  secured  as  to  her  warlike  build ;  depositions 
were  taken  and  forwarded  to  London  and  laid  before 
the  Foreign  Office.  Communications  were  drawn 
up,  reports  were  asked  for,  and  the  case  was  bandied 
about  from  office  to  office  with  all  the  red  tape,  dig 
nity,  and  circumlocution  that  ponderous  intricate 
organizations  are  capable  of.  Finally  a  responsible 
opinion  was  definitely  rendered  that  the  building  of 
the  ship  was  in  violation  of  an  English  law,  and 


168  EAPHAEL  BEMMES 

orders  were  despatched  for  her  seizure,  but  too  late. 
The  indefatigable  Bullock  had  not  slept  at  his  deli 
cate  task  ;  his  ear  was  attuned  to  all  whispers  of 
danger. 

He  had  got  a  hint,  and  early  on  the  morning  of 
July  29,  1862,  he  put  on  board  the  incompleted 
craft  a  gay  party  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  and 
passed  down  the  Mersey  on  a  trial  trip.  Custom 
house  officials  went  along  also  to  see  that  no  inter 
national  wrong  was  done.  It  was  a  complimentary 
jaunt  enjoyed  by  all  with  a  seasonable  luncheon  in 
the  cabin  about  noon,  but  later  a  tug  came  along 
side  and  the  surprised  party  were  all  requested  to 
pass  over  the  side  into  her.  The  feast  was  cleared 
away,  the  bunting  taken  down,  and  there  was  lively 
bustling  to  get  the  "290  "  in  shape  for  her  maiden 
voyage  on  the  high  seas,  as  she  was  ordained  never 
to  see  Liverpool  again.  In  the  darkness  of  the 
early  morning  of  the  last  day  of  July,  she  turned 
her  prow  out  of  the  bay  on  the  coast  of  Wales  where 
she  had  been  at  anchor  and  plowed  northward 
through  the  Irish  Sea,  then  around  the  north  of 
Ireland  and  vanished  in  the  broad  ocean. 

Charles  Francis  Adams,  the  minister  from  Wash 
ington  to  England,  had  steadily  driven  the  whole 
engine  of  diplomacy  to  head  her  off  He  inter- 


ON  THE  "ALABAMA"  169 

viewed  the  Foreign  Secretary,  Lord  Russell,  to  the 
limits  of  politeness,  he  placed  the  proofs  before  him 
of  the  character  of  the  vessel  in  the  Laird  yards  at 
Liverpool,  he  insisted  on  quickness  of  decision  and 
energy  of  action,  he  called  upon  the  United  States 
gunboat  Tuscarora,  but  it  was  all  too  late.  The 
Tuscarora  was  down  toward  Queenstown,  while  her 
game  was  skimming  on  past  the  Giant's  Causeway 
in  her  rush  to  begin  her  destiny  of  destruction.  At 
that  geological  puzzle  Bullock  had  lauded  and  made 
his  way  thence  to  Liverpool. 

Bullock  had  been  active  but  prudent  throughout 
the  period  of  getting  this  cruiser  afloat.  Although 
he  had  been  on  pleasant  social  terms  with  Mr. 
Laird,  he  had  never  divulged  his  object,  and  that 
gentleman  had  only  spoken  the  truth  when  he  de 
nied  in  the  House  of  Commons  all  knowledge  of  the 
purpose  of  the  boat.  There  were  plenty  of  prece 
dents  in  the  history  of  the  Revolutionary  War  for 
securing  vessels  in  foreign  lands  to  hurl  against  a 
belligerent.  Franklin  had  done  in  France  just 
what  Bullock  had  accomplished  in  England.  The 
United  States  authorities  themselves  had  made  over 
tures  to  Laird  for  obtaining  some  steamers  soon 
after  the  Civil  War  started.  But  the  time  limit  set 
was  too  short,  as  the  firm  was  already  overburdened 


170  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

with  work.     With  such  examples  and  under  such 
difficulties  went  forth  this 

"  Beautiful  steamship,  pride  of  the  seas, 
Decked  for  the  battle  and  rigged  for  the  breeze."  1 

In  the  meantime  the  captain  of  this  future 
" scourge  of  commerce"  was  restlessly  searching 
another  chance  to  strike  at  the  enemy.  After  lay 
ing  up  the  Sumter  in  Gibraltar,  Senimes  sailed  for 
England,  and  got  in  touch  with  the  Confederate 
representatives  there.  He  soon  saw  there  was  no 
prospect  of  another  ship  for  him,  as  it  was  the  un 
derstanding  that  Bullock  was  to  have  the  "  290  "  as 
soon  as  she  left  the  yards.  Semmes  went  to  Nassau 
on  an  English  boat,  with  the  aim  of  dashing  through 
the  blockade,  returning  to  the  South  and  fighting 
on  land,  if  he  could  not  get  into  his  own  element 
again.  But  shortly  after  reaching  Nassau  he  was 
instructed  by  the  Confederate  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
to  return  to  England  and  to  take  charge  of  the  new 
cruiser.  It  was  an  anxious  time  for  him, — waiting 
to  catch  a  neutral  bottom  to  Europe.  But  he  sent 
a  message  to  the  efficient  Bullock  to  push  all  work 
on  the  Alabama  with  as  much  care  and  thoroughness 
as  if  he  himself  were  to  be  her  guide. 

1  Colburn's  Magazine,  Vol.  168,  p.  498. 


ON  THE  "  ALABAMA »  171 

Finally,  the  first  week  in  August  Seinmes  him 
self  reached  Bullock.  With  his  corps  of  officers,  a 
few  days  afterward,  all  set  out  in  a  boat,  previously 
engaged  by  Bullock,  for  the  Azores,  the  appointed 
rendezvous.  Another  vessel,  freighted  with  muni 
tions  and  supplies  for  the  Alabama,  had  been  already 
ordered  to  these  islands.  These  half-way  resting 
houses  are  a  peaceful  haven  for  the  mariner  and  an 
alluring  sight  to  the  eye  of  man.  Nature  smiled  on 
the  carefully  tilled  hills,  "the  red-tiled  roofs,  sharp 
gables,  and  parti-colored  verandas."  Little  wonder 
if  it  was  horrible  to  Porter  that  from  "this  beauti 
ful  spot,  where  it  seemed  as  if  nothing  unlawful 
could  exist,  started  forth  one  of  the  most  devastat 
ing  expeditions  against  a  nation's  commerce  known 
in  the  history  of  war."  Here  in  sight  of  these 
green-clad  slopes  and  summits,  amid  the  sun  flashes 
from  the  waves,  with  enchanting  peacefulness  above 
and  around,  the  last  touches  were  put  on  the 
Alabama,  that  had  struggled  for  nine  days  with  the 
gales  and  swells  of  the  Atlantic  after  escaping  from 
the  Irish  Sea. 

Her  English  captain,  immediately  after  coming 
to,  set  his  crew  ostensibly  to  repairing  the  ma 
chinery,  as  he  claimed  he  was  disabled  by  the 
storms,  but  really  to  make  all  ready  for  the  arina- 


172  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

meut  that  he  knew  was  cm  the  way.  The  Portuguese 
authorities  looked  011  suspiciously ;  he  swore  at 
them,  bullied  them,  and  continued  his  work  with 
added  energy.  With  the  coming  of  the  other  two 
vessels,  the  harbor  officials  became  more  and  more 
inquisitive,  and  although  the  pitiful  plea  was  made 
that  one  of  the  consorts  was  sinking  and  all  hands 
were  feverishly  straining  themselves  to  lighten  her 
and  save  her,  all  three  were  forced  to  go  outside. 
With  some  deception,  much  boldness,  a  little  defi 
ance,  unceasing  toil  of  the  crews,  and  racking 
vigilance  and  apprehension  on  the  part  of  Semmes 
lest  an  enemy  appear  before  he  was  armed,  the 
Alabama  was  finally  gotten  into  shape. 

John  Laird,  her  creator,  declared  she  was  u  the 
finest  cruiser  of  her  class  in  the  world."  To  the 
great  sea  leader  on  the  other  side  of  the  civil  con 
flict,  Porter,  ' t  she  was  the  most  dangerous  machine 
to  be  used  against  American  commerce  ever  yet 
planned. "  In  the  opinion  of  one  of  her  officers, 
Sinclair,  she  was  ' '  fitted  out  with  the  most  careful 
and  astute  provision,  .  .  .  had  unusual  re 
sources  within  herself,  such  as  no  other  man-of-war 
of  the  day  could  boast.  She  carried  the  means 
for  making  all  ordinary  repairs  upon  her  ma 
chinery,  spars,  and  armament  while  at  sea,  or  in 


ON  THE  "ALABAMA"  173 

ports  where  mechanical  facilities  could  not  be  com 
manded. " 

At  his  first  glance  in  these  Portuguese  waters,  her 
master  saw  "she  was  indeed  a  beautiful  thing  to 
look  upon."  His  home  and  his  floating  fortress  for 
more  than  a  score  of  mouths,  she  deserves  a  more 
material  description.  Thus  has  Semnies  given  it : ' 

"She  was  about  nine  hundred  tons  burden,  two 
hundred  and  thirty  feet  in  length,  thirty- two  feet  in 
breadth,  twenty  feet  in  depth,  and  drew,  when 
provisioned  and  coaled  for  a  cruise,  fifteen  feet  of 
water.  Her  model  was  of  the  most  perfect  sym 
metry,  and  she  sat  upon  the  water  with  the  light 
ness  and  grace  of  a  swan.  She  was  barkeutine 
rigged,  with  long  lower  masts,  which  enabled  her 
to  carry  large  fore-and-aft  sails,  as  jibs  and  trysails, 
which  are  of  so  much  importance  to  a  steamer,  in 
so  many  emergencies.  Her  sticks  were  of  the  best 
yellow  pine,  that  would  bend  in  a  gale  like  a  willow 
wand  without  breaking,  and  her  rigging  was  of  the 
best  Swedish  iron  wire.  The  scantling  of  the  vessel 
was  light,  compared  with  vessels  of  her  class  in  the 
Federal  Navy,  but  this  was  scarcely  a  disadvantage, 
as  she  was  designed  as  a  scourge  of  the  enemy's 
commerce  rather  than  for  battle.  She  was  to  de- 
feud  herself  simply,  if  defense  should  become  neces 
sary.  Her  engine  was  of  three  hundred  horse  power 
and  she  had  attached  an  apparatus  for  condensing 
from  the  vapor  of  sea  water  all  the  fresh  water  that 
her  crew  might  require. 

"  She  was  a  perfect  steamer  and  a  perfect  sailing 

1  "Nav.  Hist,  of  Civil  War,"  p.  628. 


174  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

ship  at  the  same  time,  neither  of  her  two  modes  of 
locomotion  being  at  all  dependent  upon  the  other. 
.  .  .  The  Sumter,  when  her  fuel  was  exhausted, 
was  little  better  than  a  log  on  the  water  because  of 
her  inability  to  hoist  her  propeller,  which  she  was 
in  consequence  compelled  to  dray  after  her.  The 
Alabama  was  so  constructed  that  in  fifteen  minutes 
her  propeller  could  be  detached  from  the  shaft,  and 
lifted  in  a  well  contrived  for  the  purpose,  sufficiently 
high  out  of  the  water  not  to  be  an  impediment  to 
her  speed.  When  this  was  done  and  her  sails 
spread,  she  was  to  all  intents  and  purposes  a  sail 
ing  ship.  On  the  other  hand,  when  I  desired  to 
use  her  as  a  steamer,  I  had  only  to  start  the  fires, 
lower  the  propeller,  and  if  the  wind  was  adverse, 
brace  her  yards  to  the  wind,  and  the  conversion 
was  complete.  The  speed  of  the  Alabama  was  al 
ways  greatly  overrated  by  the  enemy.  She  was 
ordinarily  about  a  ten-knot  ship.  She  was  said  to 
have  made  eleven  knots  and  a  half  on  her  trial 
trip,  but  we  never  afterward  got  it  out  of  her. 
Under  steam  and  sail  both  we  logged  on  one  oc 
casion  thirteen  knots  and  a  quarter,  which  was  her 
utmost  speed. 

"Her  armament  consisted  of  eight  guns;  six 
32-pounders,  in  broadside,  and  two  pivot  guns 
amidships ;  one  on  the  forecastle,  and  the  other 
abaft  the  mainmast — the  former  a  100-pounder  rifled 
Blakeley,  and  the  latter  a  smooth  bore  eight-inch. 
The  Blakeley  gun  was  so  deficient  in  metal  com 
pared  with  the  weight  of  shot  it  threw  that  after 
the  first  few  discharges,  when  it  became  a  little 
heated,  it  was  of  comparatively  small  use  to  us,  to 
such  an  extent  were  we  compelled  to  reduce,  the 
charge  of  powder  on  account  of  the  recoil.  The 
average  crew  of  the  Alabama  before  the  mast  was 


ON  THE  "  ALABAMA  »  175 

about  one  hundred  and  twenty  men ;  and  she  car 
ried  twenty-four  officers.  The  cost  of  the  ship  with 
everything  complete  was  about  $250,000." 

Such  was  the  boat,  put  in  commission  in  mid- At 
lantic,  beyond  all  human  jurisdiction,  with  a  few 
lonely  islands  in  sight.  A  graphic  pen-picture  has 
Semmes  given  us  of  the  event : 

"The  ship  having  been  properly  prepared  we 
steamed  out,  on  this  bright  Sunday  morning,  under 
a  cloudless  sky,  with  a  gentle  breeze  from  the  south 
east  scarcely  ruffling  the  surface  of  the  placid  sea  ; 
and,  under  the  shadow  of  the  smiling  and  pictur 
esque  island  Terceira,  which  nature  seemed  to  have 
decked  specially  for  the  occasion,  so  charming  did 
it  appear  in  its  checkered  dress  of  a  lighter  and 
darker  green,  composed  of  corn-fields  and  orange 
groves,  the  flag  of  the  new-born  Confederate  states 
was  unfurled  for  the  first  time  from  the  peak  of  the 
Alabama.  .  .  .  The  ceremony  was  short  but  im 
pressive.  The  officers  were  all  in  full  uniform,  and 
the  crew  neatly  dressed.  I  caused  'all  hands'  to 
be  summoned  aft  on  the  quarter-deck,  and,  mount 
ing  a  gun  carriage,  I  read  the  commission  of  Mr. 
Jefferson  Davis  appointing  me  a  captain  in  the  Con 
federate  States  Navy,  and  the  order  of  Mr.  Stephen 
K.  Mallory,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  directing 
me  to  assume  command  of  the  Alabama.  Following 
my  example  the  officers  and  crew  had  all  uncovered 
their  heads,  in  deference  to  the  sovereign  authority, 
as  is  customary  on  such  occasions ;  as  they  stood 
in  respectful  silence  and  listened  with  rapt  attention 
to  the  reading  and  to  the  short  explanation  of  my 


176  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

object  and  purposes  in  putting  the  ship  in  commis 
sion  which  followed,  I  was  impressed  with  the 
spectacle. 

"  While  the  reading  was  going  on,  two  small  balls 
might  have  been  seen  ascending  slowly,  one  to  the 
peak,  and  the  other  to  the  main-royal  masthead. 
These  balls  were  so  arranged  that,  by  a  sudden  jerk 
of  the  halliards  by  which  they  had  been  sent  aloft, 
the  flag  and  pennant  would  unfold  themselves  to  the 
breeze.  A  curious  observer  would  also  have  seen  a 
quartermaster  standing  by  the  English  colors,  which 
we  were  still  bearing,  ready  to  strike  them,  a  band 
of  music  on  the  quarter-deck,  and  a  gunner  (lock- 
string  in  hand)  standing  by  the  weather-bow  gun. 
All  these  men  had  their  eyes  upon  the  reader  ;  and 
when  he  had  concluded,  at  a  wave  of  his  hand,  the 
gun  was  fired,  the  change  of  flags  took  place,  and 
the  air  was  rent  by  a  deafening  cheer  from  officers 
and  men :  the  band  at  the  same  time  playing 
'Dixie,'  that  soul-stirring  national  anthem  of  the 
new-born  government.  Thus  amid  this  peaceful 
scene  of  beauty,  with  all  nature  smiling  upon  the 
ceremony,  was  the  Alabama  christened;  the  name 
'  290 ?  disappearing  with  the  English  flag. ' ' 

In  this  way  on  Sunday,  August  24,  1862,  was 
born  the  Alabama ;  on  another  Sunday  a  little  over 
a  score  of  months  later  she  died. 

It  was  an  anxious  moment  after  Semmes  had  made 
his  address  inviting  seamen  from  the  crews  to  en 
list.  He  had  enticingly  stated  the  case  to  them, 
briefly  describing  the  cause  of  the  South  as  a  strug 
gle  for  liberty,  painting  the  delights  of  strange 


ON  THE  "ALABAMA"  177 

skies  and  foreign  ports  with  u  liberty  on  shore," 
and  mentioning  the  prospects  for  combat  with  the 
foe.  Especially  careful  had  he  been  to  emphasize 
the  financial  side, — the  unusually  good  rate  of  pay  he 
offered  them,  and  the  chances  for  big  prize  money 
if  all  turned  out  successfully.  He  must  have  been 
eloquent  if  results  were  the  test,  as  he  got  nearly  all 
the  available  fellows,  or  eighty  out  of  the  total  of 
ninety.  It  was  a  happy  ending  for  the  first  and 
only  "stump  speech  "  ever  made  to  the  crew  of  the 
Alabama.  Semmes,  Bullock,  and  the  British  cap 
tain  were  all  kept  busy  till  late  that  night  arranging 
matters  for  the  newly-enlisted  men,  so  they  could 
make  remittances  home.  Semmes  was  gratified 
that  so  many  were  married,  as  he  felt  that  for  this 
reason  he  could  rely  on  them  all  the  more. 

It  was  a  motley  company  at  the  start,  becoming 
more  so  as  desertions  were  made  good  at  the  various 
ports  visited.  Kell  found  that  among  the  English, 
Dutch,  Irish,  and  Spanish,  were  a  few  Yankee  tars, 
and  a  nucleus  of  Southern  pilots  from  Charleston, 
Savannah,  and  New  Orleans,  but  all  in  all,  he  de 
clared,  ua  braver  and  more  willing  crew  never 
floated."  They  were  ready  to  dare  all  for  their 
commander,  and  begged  him  to  get  another  deck 
after  the  loss  of  the  Alabama  so  they  could  sail  with 


178  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

him  again.  One  of  the  number  has  portrayed  them 
as  lawless,  turbulent,  wild  as  animals,  and  defiant 
of  all  rule,  but  he  also  testifies  to  the  firmness  and 
decisiveness  of  the  captain,  and  his  spirit  of  iron 
rule  when  mutiny  seemed  imminent.  The  twenty 
mouths  at  sea,  with  a  long  series  of  prizes,  are  an 
answer  to  all  criticism  of  proper  control. 

Late  that  night  Bullock  parted  from  Semmes, 
noting  a  propitious  horoscope  in  all  nature  in  spite 
of  his  depression.  "  With  heartfelt  prayers  for  his 
success,  I  stepped  over  the  Alabama's  side  with 
feelings  very  much  akin  to  those  which  oppress  a 
man  when  he  leaves  his  home  behind  him.  The 
heavens  were  brilliant  with  stars,  a  blazing  comet 
illuminated  the  sky  to  the  northwest,  the  lanterns 
of  the  Alabama  gleamed  brightly  as  she  rose  and 
fell  to  the  sea  ;  the  signs  were  all  favorably  ominous 
and,  banishing  every  sentiment  but  hope,  I  pre 
dicted  a  glorious  cruise  for  the  dashing  little  craft 
and  her  gallant  commander."  Confident  was  he  in 
another  despatch  to  his  superior,  when  he  said  of 
Semmes,  "  You  will  not  be  long  in  hearing  of  his 
movements."  * 

Bullock  was  prophetic,  though  there  was  a  short 
delay.  Semmes  had  not  only  a  new  crew,  but  also 
1  "Naval  War  Records,"  Series  I,  Vol.  I,  p.  776. 


ON  THE  < '  ALABAMA > >  179 

almost  a  new  staff  of  officers.  Kell,  his  right  hand 
man  on  the  Suniter,  was  the  same  for  him  on  the 
Alabama,  but  the  other  lieutenants  were  replaced  by 
Armstrong,  Wilson,  Low,  and  Sinclair,  the  last  of 
whom  has  left  a  lively  account  of  life  on  shipboard. 
Gait,  the  Sumter's  surgeon,  and  Freeman,  the  former 
chief  engineer,  filled  the  same  posts  on  the  Alabama. 
Llewellyn,  an  Englishman,  as  assistant  surgeon,  and 
Bulloch,  brother  of  the  Alabama's  designer,  were 
in  the  list.  In  addition  one  renegade  slipped  in, 
Semmes  admitted  with  shame,  the  paymaster,  who 
tried  to  tamper  with  the  crew  with  a  view  to  mutiny. 
He  was  discharged,  and  then  went  over  to  the  other 
side,  his  place  being  filled  by  Gait. 

Leisure  was  needed  for  drilling  the  organization 
into  a  compact  mass,  so  that  each  part  would  know 
its  place,  and  all  could  work  iu  harmony.  Semmes 
withdrew  therefore  "under  easy  sail,  from  the 
beaten  tracks  of  commerce,"  and  devoted  "several 
days  to  the  exercise  of  the  crew,  as  well  at  general 
as  at  division  quarters."  He  accounted  it  fortu 
nate  that  some  of  his  sailors  had  served  on  men-of- 
war. 

The  boat  herself  had  been  built  of  green  lumber, 
and  under  the  warm  sun  timbers  began  to  warp  and 
yawn.  The  men  got  to  know  all  about  calking. 


180  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

The  guns  also  were  put  in  shape,  and  tried  out  with 
some  blauk  cartridges. 

It  was  soon  seen  that  the  Alabama  was  a  fine 
sailer,  a  thing  she  abundantly  proved  afterward,  as 
she  made  all  of  her  captures  except  half  a  dozen 
with  her  propeller  out  of  water.  She  could  never 
have  become  the  terror  she  did  if  she  had  relied  on 
steam,  as  she  carried  only  eighteen  days'  fuel.  Her 
radius  of  action  would  have  been  so  limited  if  she 
had  been  forced  to  go  into  port  every  two  or  three 
weeks  to  recoal,  that  she  would  have  been  soon 
caught  or  badly  crippled  in  her  movements. 

But  she  had  finally  preened  and  plumed  herself, 
and  was  ready  for  a  dash  at  the  whalers  around  the 
Azores,  a  field  which,  though  open  to  the  bold  ad 
venturers  of  all  countries,  was  almost  entirely  pre 
empted  by  the  New  England  boats.  These  waters 
do  not  themselves  produce  the  food  for  these  mon 
sters  of  the  deep.  Their  supplies  are  grown  in  the 
warmer  regions  of  the  tropics,  and  are  brought  to 
these  feeding  areas  by  the  currents.  The  hunting 
here  ends  about  the  first  of  October,  when  the 
winter  gales  begin.  There  were  only  a  few  weeks 
left  for  Semnies  to  deal  his  fatal  strokes,  and  he  lost 
no  further  time.  Early  on  September  25th,  he  ran 
across  the  Ocmulgee,  and  astonished  the  captain  by 


ON  THE  "ALABAMA"  181 

showing  the  Confederate  colors.  She  was  busy 
with  a  huge  whale  alongside,  within  one  hundred 
miles  of  where  the  Alabama  had  been  commissioned 
eleven  days  before.  Seinrnes  did  not  want  to  alarm 
other  boats  in  the  whaling  industry,  and  although 
he  had  removed  all  the  stores  that  he  wanted  from 
his  prize  by  nine  o'clock  the  night  of  the  capture, 
he  waited  till  the  next  day  to  start  his  bonfire.  He 
ran  in  near  the  island  of  Flores  and  landed  his 
prisoners  in  their  own  boats,  allowing  them  to  take 
what  stores  they  desired. 

Hardly  had  this  been  done,  when  another  sail  was 
seen  making  for  the  protecting  zone  of  the  marine 
league  around  the  island.  She  did  not  show  her 
colors,  but  to  the  keen  eyes  on  the  Alabama  she  was 
American  in  every  feature.  She  gamely  held  on 
her  way  in  spite  of  the  warning  from  a  blank  cart 
ridge.  After  humoring  her  a  few  minutes  longer, 
Semmes  sent  a  round  shot  whistling  through  her 
rigging.  The  crew  of  seven  were  all  put  in  irons, 
in  retaliation  for  the  treatment  that  Semmes7  pay 
master,  Myers,  had  received  after  his  capture  in 
Tangier.  The  passengers  aboard  were  permitted  to 
remain,  with  a  prize  crew  in  control,  till  the  next 
day,  when  they  with  the  prisoners  were  lauded. 

Setting  out  again  Semmes  overhauled  a  Portuguese 


182  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

"  whaling  brig,"  the  only  foreign  whaler  he  ever 
held  up.  There  were  practically  none  engaged  in 
this  business  except  Americans,  all  the  others  hav 
ing  been  driven  out  in  fair,  free  contest  by  the 
"  superior  skill,  energy,  industry,  courage  and 
perseverance  of  the  Yankee  whaler,  who  is  perhaps 
the  best  specimen  of  a  sailer  the  world  over." 
Such  is  Semmes'  spontaneous  tribute  to  the  noble 
worth  and  character  of  his  foes,  a  tribute  coming 
from  him  in  spite  of  his  hostility  to  the  government 
of  the  section  which  sent  them  forth. 

But  the  day  was  not  lost.  That  afternoon  he 
bagged  the  Ocean  Rover,  a  large  craft  on  her  way 
home  to  Massachusetts,  with  eleven  hundred  barrels 
of  oil,  after  a  cruise  of  over  three  years.  To 
Semmes'  poetic  nature  pathos  tempered  the  pride 
of  victory.  He  could  not  help  feeling  a  sympathy 
for  this  gallant  fellow  homeward  bound  to  his  wife 
and  "  babies,"  after  his  long  separation.  But  the 
master  did  not  mope  over  his  misfortune.  When 
he  heard  that  the  Ocmulgee  men  had  been  allowed 
to  pull  to  freedom  on  the  island  he  asked  for  the 
same  favor,  declaring  that  the  distance  of  four  or 
five  miles  was  nothing.  "We  whalers  sometimes 
chase  a  whale  on  the  broad  sea  until  our  ship  is  hull 
down,  and  think  nothing  of  it.  It  will  relieve  you 


ON  THE  "  ALABAMA"  183 

of  us  the  sooner  and  be  of  some  service  to  us  be 
sides." 

The  water  was  smooth,  the  chance  good  to  be  rid 
of  prisoners,  and  Semmes  gave  permission  for  the 
boats  to  be  loaded  with  provisions  and  personal 
effects.  The  delighted  fellows  worked  like  beavers, 
and  in  a  couple  of  hoars  the  six  boats,  manned  by 
six  each,  were  alongside  waiting  for  the  word  of 
release.  Semmes  says  :  "  I  could  not  but  be  amused 
when  I  looked  over  the  side  into  these  boats  at  the 
amount  of  plunder  that  the  rapacious  fellow  had 
packed  in  them.  They  were  literally  loaded  down 
with  all  sorts  of  traps,  from  the  seamen's  chests  and 
bedding  to  the  tabby  cat  and  parrot.  Nor  had  the 
main  chance  been  overlooked,  for  all  the  '  cabin 
stores'  had  been  secured,  and  sundry  barrels  of 
beef  and  pork  besides.  I  said  to  him,  i  Captain, 
your  boats  appear  to  me  to  be  rather  deeply  laden  ; 
are  you  not  afraid  to  trust  them?'  <Oh,  no,'  he 
replied,  'they  are  as  buoyant  as  ducks,  and  we 
shall  not  ship  a  drop  of  water.'"  After  being 
paroled,  they  shoved  off,  and  set  out  to  row  to 
land. 

The  scene  and  the  occasion  touched  Semmes' 
strain  of  sentiment,  and  he  has  painted  it  all  for  us 
tenderly  :  "  That  night  lauding  of  this  whaler's 


184  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

crew  was  a  beautiful  spectacle.  I  stood  on  the 
horse-block  watching  it,  iny  mind  busy  with  many 
thoughts.  The  moon  was  shining  brightly,  though 
there  were  some  passing  clouds  sailing  lazily  in  the 
upper  air  that  flecked  the  sea.  Flores,  which  was 
sending  off  to  us,  even  at  this  distance,  her  perfumes 
of  shrub  and  flower,  lay  sleeping  in  the  moonlight, 
with  a  few  fleecy  white  clouds  round  the  mountain 
top  like  a  turban.  The  rocky  islets  that  rise  like  so 
many  shafts  out  of  the  sea,  devoid  of  all  vegetation, 
and  at  different  distances  from  the  shore,  looked 
weird  and  unearthly,  like  sheeted  ghosts.  The 
boats  moving  swiftly  and  mysteriously  toward  the 
shore  might  have  been  mistaken  when  they  had 
gotten  a  little  distance  from  us  for  Venetian  gon 
dolas,  with  their  peaked  bows  and  sterns,  especially 
when  we  heard  coming  over  the  sea  a  song  sung  by 
a  powerful  and  musical  voice  and  chorused  by  all 
the  boats.  Those  meriy  fellows  were  thus  making 
light  of  misfortune,  and  proving  that  the  sailor  after 
all  is  the  true  philosopher.  The  echo  of  that  night 
song  lingered  long  in  my  memory,  but  I  little 
dreamed  as  I  stood  on  the  deck  of  the  Alabama  and 
witnessed  the  scene  I  have  described,  that  four 
years  afterward  it  would  be  quoted  against  me  as  a 
violation  of  the  law  of  war.  And  yet  so  it  was. 


ON  THE  " ALABAMA"  185 

It  was  alleged  .  .  .  that  miles  away  at  sea,  in 
rough  and  inclement  weather,  I  compelled  my 
prisoners  to  depart  for  the  shore,  in  leaky  and  un 
sound  boats,  at  the  hazard  of  their  lives,  designing 
and  desiring  to  drown  them.  And  this  was  all  the 
thanks  I  received  for  setting  some  of  these  fellows 
up  as  nabobs  among  the  islanders.  Why,  the 
master  of  the  Ocean  Rover,  with  his  six  boats  and 
their  cargoes,  was  richer  than  the  governor,  when 
he  lauded  in  Flores ;  where  the  simple  islanders 
are  content  with  a  few  head  of  cattle,  a  cast  net  and 
a  canoe. " 

Semmes  was  right  j  this  act  and  the  romance  of 
this  flight  to  land  were  considered  at  first  most 
damaging  to  him  when  the  Navy  Department  was 
searching  for  evidence  against  him  as  he  lay  in  jail 
in  Washington  in  the  early  part  of  1866.  Happily 
for  the  judicial  calm  of  the  legal  adviser,  the  case 
was  investigated,  and  the  actors  cheerfully  exoner 
ated  him  from  all  blame. 

Conscious  of  having  dealt  generously  with  the 
defeated,  Semmes  of  course  could  feel  none  of  these 
apprehensions,  and  turned  in  and  slept  soundly  till 
aroused  at  midnight  to  be  informed  that  a  large 
ship  was  near.  Without  disturbing  the  regular 
routine  of  officers  and  crew,  as  it  was  his  rule  in 


186  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

such  cases  to  use  only  those  on  customary  duty  un 
less  in  an  emergency,  Semmes  came  on  deck  and 
supervised  the  chase  himself.  It  was  a  close  race 
for  four  hours,  as  she  was  hurrying  for  the  shelter 
of  the  marine  league,  and  disdained  to  heed  a  blank 
cartridge.  But  a  thirty-two  pound  shot  behind  her 
stern  gave  her  such  a  drenching  that  she  hauled  up 
at  once. 

She  was  the  Alert  from  Connecticut,  out  only  six 
teen  days,  with  an  ample  outfit  to  reach  a  whaling 
station  in  the  islands  of  the  South  Indian  Ocean. 
It  was  a  very  opportune  catch  for  Semmes  as  he  got 
from  her  a  quantity  of  clothing,  canned  meats,  and 
tobacco.  The  crew  was  sent  ashore  in  their  own 
boats,  and  the  Alabama  tars  smoked  to  their  fill  of 
good  "  Virginia  twist." 

As  he  could  take  no  prizes  into  a  neutral  port, 
there  were  soon  three  pyres  burning  around  Semmes 
at  the  same  time.  A  fresh  boat,  seeing  that  the 
triple  volumes  of  smoke  came  from  vessels  afire, 
wheeled  and  made  off,  but  not  fast  enough,  and  he 
soon  had  the  Weaiherguage,  a  whaler  from  Massa 
chusetts.  Perhaps  her  crew  enjoyed  that  night  as 
the  Alabama  bayed  after  more  flying  prey  until 
dawn,  only  to  discover  then  that  she  had  been  pur 
suing  a  Dane  for  Hamburg.  The  poor,  tired 


ON  THE  "ALABAMA"  187 

Alabama  could  only  limp  back  on  her  tracks,  and 
cheer  herself  with  destroying  her  prize,  the  Weather- 
guage,  after  landing  the  crew. 

No  other  excitement  followed  for  two  days,  then 
the  Alabama  met  the  Altamaha,  which  had  been  out 
only  five  months  and  had  but  little  oil.  It  was  a 
stirring  run  the  ensuing  night  under  a  soft  moon 
light  after  the  Benjamin  Tucker,  eight  mouths  from 
home,  with  over  three  hundred  barrels  of  oil,  and, 
what  was  still  more  welcome,  some  tobacco.  As 
soon  as  she  stopped,  Semmes  turned  in  to  conclude 
his  nap,  leaving  the  boarding  party  to  finish  opera 
tions.  Within  the  next  four  days,  three  other 
"  birds  of  the  sea"  were  caught ;  the  Courser,  which 
was  first  devoted  to  target  practice,  the  Virginia, 
whose  name  did  not  save  her,  and  the  Elisha  Dunbar, 
which  last  was  taken  on  September  18,  1862.  The 
capture  of  the  Dunbar  seriously  tested  the  Alabama's 
powers  in  bad  weather,  as  a  stiff  breeze  was  whip 
ping  the  ocean  into  buffeting  waves.  Semmes  was 
charmed  with  the  ship's  behavior.  He  says  :  "  It 
was  soon  quite  evident  that  my  gallant  little  ship 
was  entirely  at  home  in  the  roughest  weather.  She 
seemed,  like  a  trained  racer,  to  enjoy  the  sport,  and 
though  she  would  tremble  now  and  then,  as  she 
leaped  from  sea  to  sea,  it  was  the  tremor  of  excite- 


188  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

ment,  not  of  weakness."  The  wind  was  fierce  but 
there  were  daring  souls  with  Semmes  who  would  risk 
all  whenever  he  gave  command.  The  boarding- 
squad  went  down  with  the  wind  and  after  applying 
the  torch  continued  with  the  same  help  to  the 
Alabama  which  had  maneuvered  to  windward  of 
the  prize. 

It  was  the  last  whaler  to  be  got,  and  nature 
angrily  helped  to  celebrate  the  event :  "  This  burn 
ing  ship  was  a  beautiful  spectacle,  the  scene  being 
wild  and  picturesque  beyond  description.  The 
black  clouds  were  mustering  their  forces  in  fearful 
array.  Already  the  entire  heavens  had  been  over 
cast.  The  thunder  began  to  roll  and  crash,  and  the 
lightning  to  leap  from  cloud  to  cloud  in  a  thousand 
eccentric  lines.  The  sea  was  in  a  tumult  of  rage  ; 
the  winds  howled  and  the  floods  of  rain  descended. 
Amid  this  turmoil  of  the  elements,  the  Dmibar,  all 
in  flames,  and  with  disordered  gear  and  unfurled 
canvas,  lay  rolling  and  tossing  upon  the  sea.  Now 
an  ignited  sail  would  fly  away  from  a  yard,  and 
scud  off  before  the  gale  ;  and  now  the  yard  itself,  re 
leased  from  the  control  of  its  braces,  would  swing 
about  wildly  as  if  in  the  madness  of  despair,  and 
then  drop  into  the  sea.  Finally  the  masts  went  by 
the  board,  and  then  the  hull  rocked  to  and  fro  a  while 


ON  THE  "  ALABAMA"  189 

until  it  was  filled  with  water,  and  the  fire  nearly 
quenched,  when  it  settled  to  the  bottom  of  the  great 
deep,  a  victim  to  the  passions  of  man  and  the  fury 
of  the  elements. " 


CHAPTER  X 

THE  SINKING  OF  THE  "  HATTER  AS  " 

THE  storm  that  had  sounded  the  dirge  of  the 
Dunbar  heralded  a  series  of  similar  disturbances  that 
put  an  end  to  the  whaling  season  several  days  earlier 
than  usual.  Semnies  set  out  for  new  pastures,  the 
Grand  Banks  of  Newfoundland,  to  intercept  the 
great  American  "junk  fleet,"  or  bearers  of  the 
grain  from  the  Mississippi  valley  to  the  hungry 
mouths  of  Europe.  Fortunately  stocks  of  heavier 
clothing  had  been  got  from  the  whaler  in  time  for 
this  excursion  northward.  Semmes  was  all  the  time 
very  thoughtful  of  the  health  and  welfare  of  his 
men,  and  during  his  career  on  both  boats  never  lost 
a  man  by  disease,  though  he  had  in  all  some  five 
hundred  in  his  crew  and  two  thousand  prisoners. 

Good  luck  went  with  him  into  the  Gulf  Stream  ; 
in  the  first  half  of  October  he  took  seven  vessels : 
Brilliant,  Emily  Farnum,  Wave  Crest,  Dunkirk, 
Tonawanda,  Manchester,  and  Lamplighter.  All  were 
burned  except  the  Farnum  which  had  neutral 
cargo,  and  the  Tonawanda  which  had  some  sixty 


THE  SINKING  OF  THE  "  HATTER  AS"    191 

passengers,  one-half  being  women  and  children. 
Although  chivalrous  to  the  weak,  Semmes  did  not 
want  the  Alabama  converted  into  a  nursery,  and  the 
stewards  set  to  feeding  babies.  He  kept  her  by 
under  a  prize  crew,  hoping  for  some  vessel  with 
neutral  freight  to  come  along  ;  but,  no  such  fortune 
turning  up,  he  was  compelled  by  the  circumstances 
to  give  her  freedom  under  a  ransom  bond.  There 
were  English  goods  on  the  Manchester,  but  they  were 
not  so  documented.  The  owners  afterward  wanted 
their  government  to  make  a  diplomatic  contention 
based  on  this  fact,  but  were  informed  by  the  Eng 
lish  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs  that  they  must 
"  look  for  redress  to  the  country  of  the  captor,"  as 
that  was  the  principle  in  the  law  of  nations,  when 
there  was  no  evidence  that  the  material  was  the 
property  of  an  outsider. 

Semmes  was  now  so  constantly  hailing  vessels  out 
of  American  ports  that  his  mail  was  almost  as  regu 
lar  as  if  he  had  been  on  land,  often  tri-weekly  and 
sometimes  daily.  It  was  his  habit  to  scan  the 
papers  for  news  of  the  movements  of  opposing  ves 
sels,  and  thus  learn  how  to  escape  traps  and  avoid 
dangers.  In  his  diary  of  October  12th,  he  notes 
that,  according  to  the  New  York  Herald  of  October 
5th,  of  one  hundred  and  ninety- two  of  "  the  enemy's 


192  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

gunboats"  only  thirteen  were  superior  in  force  to 
him.  After  lie  had  extracted  what  he  considered 
the  essentials,  he  passed  the  papers  on  to  the  officers 
and  then  to  the  crew.  Some  of  the  younger  mem 
bers  of  the  staff  got  to  expect  the  morning  news  at 
every  breakfast,  and  when  l  i  it  was  not  forthcom 
ing,  they  would  wonder  what  the  d — 1  the  Alabama 
had  been  about  the  past  night  that  she  had  not 
gotten  hold  of  a  mail."  Of  course  many  batches  of 
papers  were  generously  furnished  him  by  boats  of 
other  nationalities  which  he  would  hold  up.  All 
the  letters  Semmes  opened  himself,  as  his  right  un 
der  the  laws  of  war,  and  scanned  them  for  any  con 
fidential  relation  either  as  to  the  progress  of  the  war 
or  on  the  character  of  the  cargo  aboard. 

Twice  during  this  time  did  he  feel  himself  in 
jeopardy.  Once  he  unlimbered  his  guns  and  cleared 
for  action  with  what  he  thought  was  a  United  States 
war-vessel,  but  she  turned  out  to  be  Spanish.  Still 
he  was  pleased  with  the  creditable  showing  of  his 
men  in  making  the  ship  ready.1  It  was  a  furious 
cyclonic  gale  that  most  endangered  the  safety  of  all. 
This  lasted  over  four  hours,  the  vortex  passing  over 
the  ship,  which  hardly  changed  her  position  while 
the  wind  came  upon  her  from  opposite  directions  for 
1  "  Naval  War  Records,"  Series  I,  Vol.  I,  p.  795. 


THE  SINKING  OF  THE  "HATTEKAS"     193 

two  hours  at  a  time  in  turn.  She  rode  through  the 
storm  almost  buoyantly,  though  all  hands  were  set 
to  repairing  minor  damages  the  next  day. 

For  several  days  after  this  outburst  of  the  ele 
ments,  there  were  no  captures.  By  this  time  the 
Alabama's  force  had  become  "very  expert  in  de 
tecting  the  nationalities  of  ships. "  One  of  the  sub 
ordinate  officers  was  unusually  good  in  this  respect, 
and  scarcely  ever  made  a  mistake.  Only  once  did 
he  blunder  in  declaring  a  boat  "Yankee,'7  and  that 
one  had  been  built  in  Canada,  and  consequently  had 
all  the  earmarks  of  ships  constructed  in  the  United 
States.  Not  only  did  Semmes  see  something  dis 
tinctive  and  excellent  about  the  American  ships 
that  he  was  destroying,  but  he  frankly  admired 
' l  the  seamanship  of  my  enemies. "  i  '  The  Yankee, " 
he  said,  "  is  certainly  a  remarkable  specimen  of  the 
genus  homo.  He  is  at  once  a  duck  and  a  chicken,  and 
takes  to  the  water  or  to  the  land  with  equal  facility. " 

Neither  were  the  merchants  without  dexterity  and 
shrewdness  as  Semmes  now  began  to  find  out.  After 
the  word  of  his  first  captures  in  the  Gulf  Stream 
reached  the  shippers,  they  started  in  to  "cover 
cargoes "  with  certificates  of  foreign  ownership. 
Knotty  questions  came  up  before  "  The  Confederate 
States  Admiralty  Court  held  on  the  Confederate 


194  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

States  Steamer  Alabama  on  the  High  Seas."  Some 
plain-spoken  persons  on  the  other  side  indignantly 
declared  that  this  august  tribunal  consisted  of  one 
man  only,  Captain  Eaphael  Semmes,  commanding 
the  Alabama.  Of  course  there  could  be  no  appeal 
from  his  decision,  but  so  thorough  was  his  mastery 
of  the  law  touching  such  matters,  and  so  careful 
was  he  of  the  rights  of  neutrals,  that  it  is  safe  to  say 
that  he  would  never  have  been  overruled,  even  if 
his  cases  had  been  taken  to  a  regularly  constituted 
unprejudiced  court  on  land.  He  would  sit  in  his 
cabin,  hear  evidence,  examine  the  ship's  papers, 
render  his  decisions  and  enter  formal  decrees  on  his 
records.  The  attempts  at  deception  were  often  very 
apparent,  especially  at  first.  Some  blanket  docu 
ment  would  be  exhibited  to  the  effect  that  all  the 
cargo  belonged  to  neutrals  or  to  subjects  of  His 
Majesty,  the  King  of  Italy,  or  to  subjects  of  Great 
Britain  or  some  other  country.  Again  the  goods 
would  be  consigned  to  a  firm  abroad,  but  subject  to 
the  order  of  the  consignor,  thus  of  course  making 
them  the  property  of  the  merchant  in  the  American 
port.  Semmes  was  charged  by  the  New  York  news 
papers  with  deciding  such  matters  very  abruptly, 
even  profanely,  but  he  would  have  been  justified  in 
his  impatience  with  such  fraudulent  impositions. 


THE  SINKING  OF  THE  "HATTEBAS"     195 

Thanks  to  the  enterprise  of  the  American  reporter 
and  editor,  Semines  was  apprised  in  the  last  week 
of  October  that  several  gunboats  were  rushing  out 
of  New  York  harbor  after  him.  He  turned  south 
ward  and  westward  ;  or,  as  he  puts  it,  "  while  they 
are  running  from  New  York,  I  am  running  toward 
it. ' '  He  had  another  reason  for  this  move  ;  he  boldly 
aimed  to  make  a  capture  almost  in  the  very  face  of 
the  metropolis,  and  actually  got  within  two  hun 
dred  and  twenty  miles  of  the  city  when  he  was 
forced  to  give  up  his  daring  scheme  as  his  coal 
would  last  only  four  days  longer.1 

After  adding  the  Lafayette,  Crenshaw,  Lauretta, 
Baron  de  Castine,  and  Levi  Starbuck  to  his  spoils, 
Semmes  got  more  than  he  had  counted  on  in  the 
T.  B.  'Wales,  an  East  India  trader,  because  she  car 
ried  several  lady  passengers  and  children,  the 
family  of  the  captain,  and  an  ex-consul  on  his 
return  home.  Seinines  gallantly  allowed  them  to 
bring  all  their  wardrobes  aboard  without  any  in 
spection,  and  some  of  his  lieutenants  relinquished 
their  quarters  for  these  prisoners.  The  boat  as 
sumed  a  domestic  air  with  the  cries  of  childish 
voices  and  the  pattering  of  tiny  feet.  The  ex-consul 
at  least,  if  not  the  others,  appreciated  the  kindness 
1  "Naval  War  Records,"  Series  I,  Vol.  I,  p.  802. 


196  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

all  received,  and  when  Semmes,  because  of  unreason 
ing  hatred,  seemed  under  the  shadow  of  the  gallows 
some  years  later  he  volunteered  himself  as  a  witness 
in  Seinmes'  behalf. 

The  Wales  proved  almost  a  floating  shipyard,  as 
she  provided  spars  and  rigging  to  replace  the  losses 
incurred  in  the  terrific  storms  of  the  Gulf  Stream. 
Her  main-yard  i  i  was  almost  of  the  precise  dimen 
sions  of  that  of  the  Alabama,"  which  had  been  car 
ried  away  in  the  cyclone  of  the  middle  of  October. 
Best  of  all,  perhaps,  there  were  eight  recruits  from, 
her  for  the  Alabama,  bringing  her  complement 
nearly  to  the  standard  of  one  hundred  and  twenty. 
Having  despoiled  her  of  all  he  wanted,  Semmes  let 
the  torch  finish  the  work. 

It  was  ten  days  before  his  cramped  quarters  were 
relieved  of  the  congestion.  He  passed  along  the 
coast  of  the  island  of  Dominica,  which  had  looked 
so  soft  and  peaceful  to  him  just  a  year  before  when 
he  made  his  escape  from  the  Iroquois  in  the  slow 
little  Sumter.  He  lowered  his  propeller,  put  on 
steam,  glided  by  in  sight  of  St.  Pierre,  and  shortly 
after  dropped  anchor  in  Fort  de  France,  on  the  18th 
of  November,  1862.  This  was  the  Alabama's  first 
harbor  since  her  baptism  off  Terceira  not  quite  three 
months  before. 


THE  SINKING  OF  THE  "HATTEBAS"    197 

The  prospect  of  leave  ashore  and  the  smuggling 
of  liquor  aboard  were  too  much  for  his  irresponsible 
crew.  They  burst  all  bonds,  defied  all  discipline 
and  tried  to  disable  their  officers.  But  Sernines 
mastered  the  riot.  He  left  his  dinner  and  came  on 
deck,  had  the  lieutenant  "beat  to  quarters,"  and 
passed  along  the  platoons.  All  drunken  men  were 
arrested,  taken  to  the  gangway,  and  doused  rapidly 
with  buckets  of  water.  It  only  amused  them  at 
first,  and  they  swore  all  the  more  volubly,  but 
Semmes  had  tried  this  method  and  knew  it  would 
be  entirely  efficacious  if  kept  up  long  and  rapidly 
enough.  They  soon  began  to  gasp  for  breath  and 
then  to  shiver,  then  to  beg  for  mercy  and  to  promise 
to  behave  ever  afterward.  For  two  hours  the  treat 
ment  was  applied  and  then  all  were  docile  and  peni 
tent.  This,  the  only  semblance  of  mutiny  on  the 
Alabama,  was  effectively  quelled  because  as  the 
sailors  put  it :  "  Old  Beeswax  was  hell  upon  water 
ing  a  fellow's  grog.7' 

This  little  flare  up  did  not  delay  the  execution  of 
the  purpose  of  Semmes'  call  to  port.  The  indefati 
gable  Bullock  had  despatched  the  coal  ship,  and  it 
had  arrived  several  days  before,  in  ample  time  for 
her  loquacious  Scotch  master  to  divulge  her  mission. 
Semmes  expected  a  gunboat  to  be  nosing  about,  and 


198  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

he  shrewdly  sent  the  coal  ship  out  to  a  small  island. 
Before  he  followed  her,  the  San  Jacinto  came  up, 
and  made  all  preparations  for  combat.  Semmes 
had  no  intention  of  meeting  her  as  she  had  twice  as 
much  metal  as  the  Alabama,  but  he  felt  no  alarm 
because  he  knew  she  was  only  an  "old  wagon  of  a 
ship  > '  for  speed. 

The  weather  was  far  kinder  to  the  Alabama  than 
to  the  Sumter  a  year  before,  as  the  night  was  dark 
and  rainy.  Semmes  was  very  cool  about  it  as  we 
see  in  his  narration  :  ' '  We  ran  up  our  boats,  lighted 
our  fires,  and  when  the  steam  was  ready,  got  under 
way,  as  we  would  have  done  on  any  ordinary  occa 
sion,  except  only  that  there  were  no  lights  permitted 
to  be  seen  about  the  ship,  and  that  the  guns  were 
loaded  and  cast  loose,  and  the  crew  at  quarters.  In 
the  afternoon,  a  French  naval  officer  had  come  on 
board,  kindly  bringing  me  a  chart  of  the  harbor,  from 
which  it  appeared  I  could  run  out  in  almost  any  di 
rection  I  might  choose.  I  chose  the  most  southern 
route,  and  giving  my  ship  a  full  head  of  steam,  we 
passsed  out  without  so  much  as  getting  a  glimpse  of 
the  San  Jacinto."  In  fact  so  neatly  was  the  escape 
effected  that,  according  to  a  British  subordinate, 
the  San  Jacinto  remained  there,  looking  around  for 
four  days  and  nights  before  discovering  that  the 


THE  SINKING  OF  THE  "HATTER AS"     199 

quarry  had  eluded  him,  and  was  free  from  all  pur 
suit.1 

Semmes  tranquilly  sailed  on  to  Blanquilla,  a  small 
coral  island  off  the  coast  of  Venezuela,  barren  ex 
cept  for  a  few  goats  pastured  there  by  some  herders 
from  the  mainland.  There  he  found  a  whaling 
schooner  boiling  out  blubber  on  the  beach.  As  he 
was  within  the  saving  grace  of  the  marine  league, 
he  could  only  frighten  the  skipper  by  divulging  to 
him  the  dreaded  name  of  the  Alabama,  and  ordering 
him  not  to  depart  before  she  did.  "  He  gladly  as 
sented  to  these  terms,"  and,  although  an  enemy, 
came  on  board  in  a  quite  friendly  manner. 

Here  the  Alabama  lay  for  five  days  "coaling 
ship  and  getting  ready  for  another  cruise. "  It  was 
thoroughly  safe  to  let  the  crew  go  on  land  as  there 
were  neither  bar-rooms  nor  dance- halls  in  the  place. 
Peaceful  picnics,  happy  fishing  trips,  and  success 
ful  hunts  for  water  fowl,  while  not  so  exciting  as 
evenings  in  a  port,  were  far  more  healthful  for  the 
crew,  and  more  conducive  to  discipline.  The  whole 
ship  was  put  in  the  best  physical  condition. 

It  was  necessary  to  have  men  and  material  in  the 
highest  state  of  efficiency,  as  Semmes  had  determined 
on  a  very  daring  deed.  From  the  energetic  Ameri- 
1  Cornhill  Magazine,  May,  1897. 


200  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

can  newspapers,  got  from  his  captures,  he  had 
learned  of  General  Banks' s  expedition  against  Texas, 
with  his  rendezvous  at  Galveston.  He  knew  a  large 
number  of  transports  would  set  out  for  that  port. 
As  the  water  over  the  bar  was  only  twelve  feet,  the 
most  of  them  would  have  to  anchor  outside.  It  was 
his  aim  to  make  a  night  raid  on  them  and  throw  the 
whole  into  such  confusion  that  they  would  fall  afoul 
of  each  other,  when  many  would  be  burned  or  sunk 
and  the  whole  fleet  crippled.  If  he  could  attack  the 
armed  convoys  unexpectedly,  they  would  be  off 
guard  and  would  likely  not  be  very  harmful  to  him. 
He  was  very  hopeful  of  this  as  the  press  had  spread 
it  far  that  the  Alabama  "  was  well  on  her  way  to  the 
coast  of  Brazil  and  the  East  Indies. "  He  was  sure 
no  passing  vessel  had  noted  his  presence  at  Blan- 
quilla,  so  he  might  slip  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 
without  detection,  if  all  went  well. 

But  Banks  would  not  arrive  at  his  destination  till 
about  the  tenth  of  January,  and  as  it  was  now  only 
the  latter  part  of  November,  there  were  several 
weeks  for  active  work  meanwhile.  A  good  diversion 
to  fill  in  this  time  would  be  the  capture  of  a  Califor 
nia  treasure-steamer.  He  reflected  how  much  the 
Southern  cause  could  be  encouraged  and  aided  by  a 
deposit  of  a  million  or  so  of  gold  in  European 


THE  SINKING  OF  THE  "HATTERAS"     201 

capitals,  to  be  drawn  on  for  new  Alabamas,  ranis, 
and  ironclads. 

After  directing  his  coal  consort  to  repair  to  Areas, 
a  desert  island  on  the  Gulf  coast  of  the  peninsula  of 
Yucatan,  so  as  to  refurnish  him  about  Christmas 
for  his  final  dash  at  Galveston,  Semmes  set  out  for 
the  east  end  of  Cuba.  He  thought  the  passage  there 
more  likely  for  the  California  boats  than  the  one  at 
the  west  end  of  the  island.  On  the  way  he  caught 
the  Parker  Cooke,  a  godsend  to  the  Alabama,  as  she 
was  full  of  crackers,  bread,  butter,  meats,  and  dried 
fruits.  After  she  had  been  despoiled,  she  lighted  her 
captor's  passage  until  near  midnight.  Five  days 
later,  the  Union  came  along  to  break  the  monotony, 
but  happily  for  her,  she  had  neutral  property  aboard, 
and  hence  was  dismissed  under  ransom  bond. 

Some  forty- eight  hours  later,  on  December  7, 1862, 
high  hopes  were  followed  by  deepest  disappointment. 
As  all  hands  were  getting  ready  for  the  usual  Sun 
day  morning  muster,  a  musical  voice  floated  down 
from  aloft  of  "Sail  ho  !"  and  a  large  steamer  was 
sighted.  All  were  sure  of  the  California  gold,  but 
she  was  going  in  the  wrong  direction.  As  the  ships 
neared  each  other,  the  stranger's  upper  deck  was 
seen  crowded  with  passengers,  male  and  female,  the 
uniforms,  veils,  gay  dresses,  and  fluttering  ribbons 


202  BAPHAEL  SEMMES 

making  a  bright,  joyous  scene,  soon  to  be  one  of 
fright  and  consternation.  She  did  not  heed  a  blank 
cartridge  except  to  put  on  steam  and  speed,  but  a 
round  shot  splintered  her  mast,  caused  a  wild  panic 
among  the  ladies  and  a  scampering  below,  and 
brought  the  ship  to  at  once.  Instead  of  gold,  Semmes 
got  what  he  little  knew  how  to  take  care  of,  as 
there  were  five  hundred  women  and  children  on  the 
ship,  besides  a  squad  of  marines.  He  paroled  the 
latter,  and  sent  his  handsomest  young  officer  aboard, 
in  his  nattiest  uniform,  to  calm  the  nerves  of  the 
ladies.  This  officer  was  so  gallant  that  all  fear  and 
alarm  disappeared,  and  his  coat  buttons  were  cut 
off  as  mementoes  of  the  occasion.  So  polite  were  all 
on  both  sides  that  the  entire  cabin,  at  his  request, 
drank  the  health  of  Jefferson  Davis,  but  a  bright 
American  girl  on  the  other  side  evened  up  matters 
by  roguishly  proposing  a  toast  to  Abraham  Lincoln, 
which  the  chivalrous  officer  had  to  accept  amid  the 
hurrahs  of  all.1  Such  was  the  festive  air  on  the 
Ariel,  which  Semmes  kept  by  him  for  several  days 
with  a  view  to  transferring  all  the  souls  to  some 
neutral  bottom.  None  coming,  however,  he  was 
forced  to  send  her  away  under  written  obligation, 
since  he  could  not  take  her  into  any  port. 

1  Sinclair,  "Two  Years  on  the  Alabama,"  p.  59. 


THE  SINKING  OF  THE  "HATTEKAS"     203 

An  accident  to  her  engine  was  responsible  for  the 
Alabama's  withdrawing  from  the  tracks  of  commerce, 
and  keeping  still  like  a  wounded  animal  for  a  couple 
of  days.  Her  engineer  was  skilful,  and  mended 
the  very  serious  break.  Then  she  went  on  to  the 
Areas  Island  to  coal  and  gird  herself  for  the  sortie 
against  Banks' s  expedition  for  Galveston.  Luck 
was  with  Semmes,  as  he  spoke  no  sail  after  leaving 
the  vicinity  of  Jamaica,  and  slipped  to  his  breath 
ing  quarters  unseen  by  any  eye,  either  on  land  or 
water. 

Two  days  before  Christmas  he  was  alongside 
the  faithful  Agrippina,  and  ceased  his  wanderings 
for  a  week,  "  coaling  ship,  refitting,  and  repaint 
ing,"  careening  her  over,  and  scrubbing  her  bottom 
below  the  water  line.  The  Alabama  was  soon  in 
such  excellent  trim  that  the  sailors  affectionately 
said  of  her  that  she  could  be  made  to  do  anything 
but  talk. 

Like  a  racer  trained  almost  to  a  razor  edge,  she 
was  ready  for  this  daring  venture  into  the  midst  of 
a  fleet  of  vessels  of  unknown  speed  and  armament. 
Porter  generously  renders  his  meed  of  admiration 
for  the  audacity  of  the  move.  It  was  "  a  bold  and 
feasible  plan,'7  he  says,  "  and  no  one  can  deny  that 
Semmes  displayed  great  daring  in  thus  bearding  the 


204  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

lion  in  his  den,  and  entering  waters  that  he  knew 
to  be  full  of  his  enemy's  gunboats."  l 

The  run  up  the  Gulf  was  uneventful,  and  the  crew, 
off  duty,  killed  time  as  best  they  could,  reading, 
playing  games,  and  telling  yarns.  But  the  most 
entertaining  diversion  was  the  speculations  as  to  the 
amount  of  prize  money  each  would  receive  from  the 
lump  appropriation  the  Confederate  Congress  would 
vote  for  the  total  value  of  all  the  captures  made, 
after  the  cruise  was  ended. 

Excitement  climbed  to  its  greatest  height  on  the 
afternoon  of  the  eleventh  of  January  (1863)  when 
they  got  in  sight  of  a  lot  of  ships  off  Galveston.  It 
was  the  crafty  scheme  to  hover  near  until  night, 
and  then  dart  into  the  immense  fleet,  for  which  the 
lookout  had  been  instructed  to  scan  the  horizon. 
He  soon  cried,  "Sail  ho!"  "Land  ho!"  but  no 
transports  were  in  sight — only  five  war  steamers. 
Presently,  one  of  these  threw  a  shell  over  the  city, 
and  the  dream  of  devastation  of  the  foe's  sail  melted 
away.  The  South  had  retaken  Galveston,  and 
Banks's  huge  armada  had  put  into  New  Orleans  in 
stead. 

Semmes  surmised  all  this,  and  he  pondered  over 
his  predicament.  It  would  shock  the  morale  of  his 
1  "Nav.  Hist.  Civ.  War,"  p.  639. 


THE  SINKING  OF  THE  "HATTEKAS"    205 

men,  undermine  their  faith  in  him,  to  run  away 
without  striking  a  blow,  and  yet  it  would  be  fool 
hardy,  even  suicidal,  to  pit  himself  against  five  ad 
versaries,  any  one  perhaps  his  equal.  But  one  of 
the  opposing  force  relieved  all  his  perplexity  by 
coming  out  after  him.  That  was  what  Semines 
desired.  He  had  no  wish  for  an  engagement  so 
near  the  others,  and  he  slowly  moved  seaward.  He 
turned  his  propeller  slowly,  even  stopping  it  at 
times,  and  thus  decoyed  his  pursuer  some  twenty 
miles  from  his  comrades.  Then,  he  says,  "  I  furled 
my  sails,  beat  to  quarters,  prepared  my  ship  for 
action,  and  wheeled  to  meet  him.  The  two  ships 
now  approached  each  other  very  rapidly.  As  we 
came  within  speaking  distance,  we  simultaneously 
stopped  our  engines,  the  ships  being  about  one  hun 
dred  yards  apart.  The  enemy  was  the  first  to  hail. 
'What  ship  is  that?'  cried  he.  'This  is  her 
Britannic  Majesty's  Petrel^  we  replied.  We  now 
hailed  in  turn  and  demanded  to  know  who  he  was. 
The  reply  not  coming  to  us  very  distinctly,  we  re 
peated  our  question,  when  we  heard  the  words, 

1  This  is  the  United  States  ship /  the  name  of 

the  ship  being  lost  to  us.  But  we  had  heard  enough. 
All  that  we  wanted  to  know  was  that  the  stranger 
was  a  United  States  ship,  and  therefore  our  enemy. 


206  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

A  pause  now  ensued,  a  rather  awkward  pause,  as 
the  reader  may  suppose.  Presently  the  stranger 
hailed  again,  and  said,  *  If  you  please,  I  will  send  a 
boat  on  board  of  you.'  His  object  of  course  was  to 
verify  or  discredit  the  answer  we  had  given  him, 
that  we  were  one  of  her  Britannic  Majesty's 
cruisers.  We  replied,  <  Certainly,  we  shall  be 
happy  to  receive  your  boat ; '  and  we  heard  a  boat 
swain's  mate  call  away  a  boat,  and  could  hear  the 
creaking  of  the  tackles,  as  she  was  lowered  into  the 
water. 

"  Things  were  now  come  to  a  crisis,  and  it  being 
useless  to  delay  our  engagement  with  the  enemy  any 
longer,  I  turned  to  my  first  lieutenant  and  said,  '  I 
suppose  you  are  all  ready  for  action.'  'We  are,' 
he  replied ;  '  the  men  are  eager  to  begin  and  are 
only  waiting  for  the  word.'  I  said,  'Tell  the 
enemy  who  we  are  for  we  must  not  strike  him  in 
disguise,  and  when  you  have  done  so,  give  him  the 
broadside.'  Kell  now  sang  out  in  his  powerful 
clarion  voice  through  his  trumpet,  'This  is  the 
Confederate  States  Steamer  Alabama,'  and  .  .  . 
gave  the  order,  '  Fire  ! ' ? ' 

The  men  had  been  instructed  beforehand  that  the 
signal  to  fire  would  be  "  Alabama,"  and  hence  im 
mediately  they  poured  a  broadside  into  the  Hatteras. 


THE  SINKING  OF  THE  "HATTEBAS"     207 

The  English  sailors  on  the  Alabama  had  been  nettled 
at  reading  in  New  York  papers  the  slurring  refer 
ences  to  the  low  character  of  the  crew,  and  they 
took  this  occasion  to  season  their  shots  with  pungent 
comments,  such  as,  "  That's  from  the  scum  of  Eng 
land.  "  u  That's  a  British  pill  for  you  to  swallow." 

One  of  the  officers  reports  that  Semmes  stood 
calmly  on  his  quarter-deck  throughout  the  engage 
ment  with  the  shot  flying  about  him,  encouraging 
the  gunners  by  word  and  gesture  :  "  Give  it  to  the 
rascals.  Fire  low,  men.  Don't  be  all  night  sinking 
that  fellow  !  "  Of  course  he  did  not  know  whether 
he  was  fighting  an  ironclad  or  a  ram. 

The  Alabama  fought  with  her  starboard  broadside 
and  the  Hatteras  with  her  port.  Semmes  was  highly 
pleased  with  the  steadiness  of  his  force,  as  they 
"  handled  their  pieces  with  great  spirit  and  com 
mendable  coolness,  and  the  action  was  sharp  and 
exciting  while  it  lasted,  which,  however,  was  not 
very  long,  for  in  just  thirteen  minutes  after  firing 
the  first  gun,  the  enemy  hoisted  a  light  and  dis 
charged  an  off-gun  as  a  signal  that  he  had  been 
beaten.  We  at  once  withheld  our  fire,  and  such  a 
cheer  went  up  from  the  brazen  throats  of  my  fellows 
as  must  have  'astonished  even  a  Texan  if  he  had 
heard  it. " 


208  BAPHAEL  SEMMES 

The  captain  of  the  Hatteras  wrote  a  concise,  manly 
account  of  his  defeat,  indulging  in  no  heat  of  feeling 
or  animosity  aside  from  a  reference  to  "piratical 
craft "  and  "rebel  steamer,"  making  in  all  what 
Semmes  frankly  admitted  was  "  a  pretty  fair  report 
of  the  engagement. "  He  pointed  out  what  Semmes 
generously  granted,  that  "the  great  superiority  of 
the  Alabama,  with  her  powerful  battery  and  her 
machinery  under  water  line  "  made  victory  a  fore 
gone  conclusion.  To  his  antagonist  he  "behaved 
like  a  man  of  courage  and  made  the  best  fight  he 
could." 

The  Hatteras  was  one  hundred  tons  larger  than  the 
Alabama,  with  eight  guns  and  a  crew  of  one  hundred 
and  eight ;  the  Alabama  had  nine  guns  and  a  crew 
of  one  hundred  and  ten,  but  there  was  considerable 
disparity  in  favor  of  the  Alabama  "  in  the  weight  of 
the  pivot  guns,  and  the  Alabama  ought  to  have  won 
the  fight,"  says  her  commander.  There  were  two 
men  killed  and  five  wounded  on  the  Hatteras,  and 
one  man  wounded,  only  slightly,  on  the  Alabama. 
Semmes  was  very  quick  in  taking  all  off  the  sinking 
Hatteras.  "  In  just  nineteen  minutes  from  the  open 
ing  broadside  the  officers  and  crew  of  the  Hatteras, 
wounded  included,  were  on  our  decks,  and  the 
Alabama  was  steaming  away  at  her  best  speed  for 


THE  SINKING  OF  THE  "  HATTER  AS  "     209 

the  Yucatan  passage.  This  is  probably  one  of  the 
quickest  naval  duels  on  record,"  and  also,  perhaps, 
"the  first  yard-arm  engagement  between  steamers 
at  sea,"  as  at  times  during  the  combat  the  boats 
were  only  a  few  yards  apart,  and  the  most  of  the 
while  only  a  hundred  yards  or  less. 

There  was  no  time  for  delay.  Assistance  was 
rapidly  coming  up  from  the  other  ships  off  Gal- 
veston,  and  the  twinkling  lights  warned  Semmes  to 
glide  off  in  the  darkness.  The  Alabama  was  un 
hurt,  not  a  shot  hole  to  be  plugged  in  the  hull  and 
not  a  rope  to  be  spliced  in  order  to  steam  away  at 
once.  She  was  more  than  a  match  in  speed  for  her 
pursuers.  They  spread  out  like  hounds  hunting  for 
the  scent  and  beat  to  and  fro  through  the  night,  but 
all  they  got  was  the  sight  next  morning  of  the  tops 
of  the  royal  masts  of  the  Hatteras  just  above  the 
waters.  Her  courageous  commander  and  her  valiant 
crew  were  aboard  the  Alabama  on  the  path  to 
Jamaica.  Their  captors  did  all  they  could  to 
soothe  their  spirits.  The  captain  shared  the  com 
forts  of  Semmes'  cabin,  while  the  rank  and  file 
received  all  the  attention  it  was  possible  to  give 
them  in  the  crowded  quarters,  which  were  rendered 
still  more  uncomfortable  by  the  raging  gales  during 
most  of  the  ten  days'  passage  to  Kingston. 


210  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

The  boat  that  had  been  lowered  to  board  the 
Alabama  stayed  by  till  the  Hatter  as  surrendered, 
and  then  the  officer  very  discreetly  stole  away  to 
the  base  at  Galveston.  The  obloquy  that  so  often 
during  the  Civil  War  followed  the  vanquished  did 
not  fall  to  the  portion  of  the  captain  of  the  Hatteras 
at  all,  as  he  had  fearlessly  faced  heavy  odds  and 
been  beaten  fairly.  He  was  exonerated  as  having 
borne  himself  in  "an  efficient  and  praiseworthy 
manner."  He  took  part  in  several  brilliant  en 
gagements  later  and  rose  to  the  rank  of  commodore 
just  before  his  death  in  1880. 


CHAPTER  XI 

SOUTHWARD  TO  CAPE  TOWN 

THE  Alabama  had  had  a  wide  sweep,  and  had 
lighted  her  passage  with  triumphant  bonfires.  She 
had  met  a  foe  in  combat  and  beaten  him,  and  her  men 
had  shown  their  spirit  and  worth.  Thus  far  there 
had  been  no  check,  either  from  man  or  from  nature. 
She  had  breasted  the  storms  and  ridden  the  gales 
victoriously  ;  she  had  sailed  the  highways  of  trade 
and  threaded  the  islands  of  the  seas,  truly  an  em 
press  of  the  waves. 

Her  exulting  career  was  not  due  to  the  supineness 
or  stupidity  of  her  opponents.  The  Navy  Depart 
ment  under  Secretary  Welles  had  been  fertile  in 
schemes  and  vigilant  in  pursuit.  They  soon  saw 
that  here  was  a  far  swifter  and  more  dangerous 
rover  than  the  Sumter.  Because  of  the  long  stretch 
of  sinuous  coast  line  to  be  blockaded  from  Norfolk 
to  Mexico,  hundreds  of  boats  were  needed  for  that 
service  and  only  a  very  few  could  be  spared  for 
chasing  the  Confederate  cruisers,  but  ready  and 
daring  souls  were  deeply  intent  on  the  problem  of 


212  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

strangling  this  serpent  of  speed  and  destructiveness. 
On  the  same  day  two  officials  in  the  New  York  Navy 
Yard  had  unfolded  a  scheme.  They  urged  the  fit 
ting  out  of  a  fast  side- wheel  steamer  armed  with 
two  hundred  men  and  protected  and  disguised  with 
bales  of  hay,  with  the  purpose  of  running  alongside 
the  Alabama  as  a  merchantman  or  neutral,  suddenly 
boarding  her  and  overcoming  all  resistance.  It  is 
hardly  likely  that  such  a  device  would  have  ever 
deceived  Semmes'  sharp  eyes.  Some  better  heads 
must  have  recollected  also  that  hay  burns  very 
readily,  and  the  project  might  have  ended  in  a 
wholesale  cremation  of  the  fearless  fellows  aboard. 
Nothing  came  of  the  novel  suggestion.1 

But  far  more  practical  and  far  more  energetic 
were  the  orders  issued  from  Washington  to  some 
half  dozen  vessels  to  range  over  almost  the  entire 
Atlantic  on  the  hunt  for  Semmes.  The  Mohican  was 
directed  to  cruise  to  Cape  Verde,  thence  on  toward 
the  Cape  of  Good  Hope ;  the  San  Jacinto  to  Bermuda, 
the  Windward  Islands  and  Trinidad  ;  the  Onward 
to  patrol  between  England  and  the  United  States  ; 
the  Sabine  to  go  to  the  Azores,  Cape  Verde  and  Brazil ; 
the  Ino  to  St.  Helena  ;  the  Kearsarge,  Tuscarora, 
and  St.  Louis  around  the  Azores  to  be  helpful  to  the 
1  "Naval  War  Records,"  Series  I,  Vol.  I,  p.  529. 


SOUTHWARD  TO  CAPE  TOWN        213 

whalers  in  those  waters.  Besides  the  alert  consuls 
and  commercial  agents  were  always  on  the  watch, 
sending  news,  sketches,  and  photographs  from  all 
points  at  which  the  Alabama  touched. 

But  the  inquisitive  reporter  and  the  ambitious 
editor  in  Washington  and  in  the  seaports  were  just 
as  unwearied  as  ever  in  gathering  the  news  and 
giving  it  to  the  public,  and  hence  to  Semmes,  who 
could  thus  easily  learn  where  danger  lurked.  He 
plotted  the  courses  and  marked  the  positions  of 
the  various  pursuers,  and  could  cut  across  their 
trails  and  elude  their  traps.  But  being  on  the  rack 
all  the  while  wore  on  his  nerves.  It  strained  even 
his  dauntless  spirit  to  feel  that  all  over  the  face  of 
the  waters  were  bold,  relentless  hunters  looking  for 
his  ship.  Especially  was  it  a  tax  to  glide  into  that 
snare,  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  with  only  two  outlets, 
one  by  Florida  meaning  almost  sure  ruin,  the  other 
by  Yucatan  that  almost  as  surely  threatened  extinc 
tion  if  by  chance  a  couple  of  vessels  were  guarding 
the  channel. 

He  was  glad  to  find  relaxation  among  his  English 
friends  on  the  island  of  Jamaica.  As  soon  as  he 
entered  the  harbor  of  Port  Eoyal,  near  Kingston, 
"the  most  cordial  relations  were  at  once  established 
between  the  officers  "  of  the  three  British  boats 


214  RAPHAEL  SEMMES 

there  and  those  of  the  Alabama.  An  English  resi 
dent  invited  Semmes  to  spend  a  few  days  up  in  the 
mountains.  After  landing  his  prisoners,  he  turned 
over  affairs  to  his  efficient  First  Officer  Kell,  while 
he  went  up  into  the  heights  to  enjoy  the  untram- 
nieled  hospitality  of  an  English  admirer.  Semmes 
had  not  had  a  holiday  since  leaving  England  to 
command  the  Alabama  some  five  months  before.  He 
had  been  cramped  in  his  cabin,  had  breathed  only 
the  salt  air,  had  cast  his  eyes  seaward  on  the  same 
wide  waste  of  waters.  It  was  monotonous  in  spite 
of  the  changeful  moods  of  the  ocean. 

He  wanted  the  steadiness  of  the  land,  the  green 
vegetation,  the  hills  firm  and  unyielding  in  their 
verdure.  His  pen  registered  his  throbbing  delight 
in  the  pictures  of  the  tropical  luxuriance  and  lush- 
ness.  He  writes  : 

"For  the  first  ten  miles,  we  rode  over  a  beauti 
ful  macadamized  road,  or  rather  avenue,  lined 
with  the  gigantic  cactus,  growing  frequently  to 
the  height  of  twenty  and  thirty  feet,  and  several 
specimens  of  the  palm  ;  chief  among  which  was  the 
cocoanut  tree,  shooting  its  trunk  with  the  straight- 
ness  of  an  arrow  to  a  great  height,  and  waving 
gracefully  in  the  breeze  its  superb,  feather-like 
foliage.  The  way  was  lined  with  many  picturesque 
country  houses,  each  surrounded  by  its  extensive 
and  well-kept  grounds,  on  which  were  growing 
crops,  chiefly  of  fruits  and  vegetables,  but  inter- 


SOUTHWAKD  TO  CAPE  TOWN        215 

spersed  occasionally  with  a  field  of  Indian  corn  or 
sugar-cane.  Hedgerows  and  shade  trees  adorned 
the  front  yards.  .  .  .  We  occasionally  obtained 
glimpses  of  beautiful  valleys  .  .  .  in  which  fairy 
cottages  were  nestled.  The  scenery  was  continually 
changing,  now  skirting  the  base  of  abrupt  hills, 
now  running  over  a  stream,  and  now  plunging  into 
the  recesses  of  a  wood,  with  the  trees  arching  over 
head,  like  the  groined  work  of  a  cathedral. 

"At  the  end  of  our  ten  miles  of  carriage-drive, 
we  found  ourselves  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains 
.  .  .  and  after  some  refreshment  mounted  sad 
dle-horses  which  we  found  in  waiting.  As  we  as 
cended  the  slopes  of  the  mountains,  we  changed 
rapidly  the  character  of  the  vegetation,  every  hun 
dred  feet  bringing  us  in  the  presence  of  new  forest 
trees  and  new  plants,  until  we  dismounted  on  the 
lawn  of  my  friend,  the  immediate  surroundings  of 
which  were  all  English,  the  cedar  and  other  well- 
known  trees  and  shrubs  of  the  temperate  latitudes 
supplanting  the  tropical  vegetation  we  had  left. 
The  air  was  so  delightfully  changed  from  the  sultry 
heats  of  the  coast  that  we  found  a  fire  quite  pleasant 
as  the  night  set  in. 

"  How  magical  the  change  was  to  the  ample  halls 
and  elegant  leisure  of  an  English  home,  perched  on 
the  mountainside  and  overlooking  a  perfect  wilder 
ness  of  tropical  vegetation !  .  .  .  How  soundly 
I  slept  .  .  .  fanned  by  the  gentlest  of  sea 
breezes  .  .  .  and  lullabied  by  the  distant 
breaker  !  I  was  awakened  the  next  morning  by  the 
merry  songs  of  a  hundred  birds,  that  came  appro 
priately  blended  with  the  perfume  of  the  flowers  that 
clustered  around  my  windows ;  and  I  have  seldom 
looked  upon  a  more  beautiful  picture  than  when  I 
threw  back  the  blinds  and  caught  a  view  of  the 


216  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

landscape,  rejoicing  in  the  morning's  sun,  with  all 
its  wealth  of  tropical  fruits  and  flowers,  and  the 
sea — the  glorious  sea — glittering  like  a  mirror  in 
the  distance.  Nothing  can  be  more  charming  than 
the  interior  of  an  English  household  when  the  ice 
has  been  broken.  The  successful  entertainment  of 
a  guest  is  one  of  those  artless  arts  of  which  the 
English  gentleman  above  all  others  is  master  ;  and 
the  art  consists  in  putting  the  guest  so  entirely  at 
his  ease  as  to  make  him  feel  at  home  in  the  first 
half  hour. 

"We  made  several  agreeable  visits  to  neighbor 
ing  plantations.  I  was  in  an  entirely  new  world — 
those  mountains  of  Jamaica — and  was  charmed  with 
everything  I  saw.  All  was  nature ;  and  nature 
presented  herself  in  her  most  lovely  aspect,  whether 
we  viewed  the  sky  overhead,  the  sea  at  our  feet,  or 
the  broken  and  picturesque  country  around  us. 
Time  flew  rapidly,  and  what  with  delightful  rides 
and  lunches  and  evening  parties,  where  music  and 
the  bright  eyes  of  fair  women  beguiled  the  senses,  I 
should  have  been  in  danger  of  forgetting  the  war  and 
the  Alabama,  if  Kell  had  not  sent  me  a  courier  on 
the  third  or  fourth  day  informing  me  that  he  was 
nearly  ready  for  sea.  I  descended  at  once  from  the 
empyrean  in  which  I  had  been  wandering  .  .  . 
and  rode  back  to  the  coast. 

"  Upon  my  arrival  in  town  I  found  that  my  friends 
had  kindly  put  a  notice  in  the  papers  informing  the 
good  people  that  I  would  be  at  the  Exchange  at 
twelve,  etc.  Was  obliged  to  go,  and  made  a  speech 
to  the  people,  which  was  well  received."  1 

But  there  was  other  work  of  a  much  more  dis 
agreeable  kind,  which  Semmes  did  not  in  the  least 
1  "  Naval  War  Kecords,"  Series  I,  Vol.  II,  p.  724. 


SOUTHWAED  TO  CAPE  TOWN        217 

shirk.  His  paymaster  had  got  drunk,  and  was 
"  hail  fellow  well  met "  on  shore  with  all  the  sailors 
he  saw.  Kell  had  arrested  him,  and  held  him  for 
Semmes  to  deal  with.  Of  course  the  case  was  settled 
almost  in  a  moment.  In  half  an  hour  the  man  was 
landed  bag  and  baggage.  He  deserted  to  the  other 
side,  and  went  to  England,  and  was  always  ready  to 
swear  to  evidence  against  the  Confederate  cause. 
He  was  the  only  instance  among  the  officers  on 
either  of  Semmes'  boats  of  disloyalty  to  his  chief. 

The  sailors  also  had  been  carousing  and  rioting 
on  shore,  in  defiance  of  the  police.  Many  had  been 
dragged  on  board,  ironed,  and  passed  below.  Two 
others,  not  liking  the  prospect,  seized  a  dugout 
alongside,  took  the  paddles  from  the  negroes  and 
began  to  make  for  the  shore.  Instantly  a  boat  was 
sent  after  the  fugitives.  As  the  pursuers  came 
near,  the  two  sailors  pitched  one  of  the  negroes 
overboard,  and  the  chase  was  of  course  delayed  to 
haul  him  in  so  as  to  save  him  from  the  sharks, 
always  prowling  in  this  bay.  The  same  trick  was 
resorted  to  by  the  sailors  when  they  seemed  again 
about  to  be  overtaken,  but  at  last  they  were  over 
hauled,  and  were  put  in  irons  on  being  returned  to 
the  Alabama. 

Semmes7  courtmartialed  the  offenders  after  the 


218  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

Alabama  was  out  on  the  high  seas  again.  They 
were  penitent  in  answers  and  profuse  in  promises. 
Even  the  two  runaways  who  had  had  such  a  thrill 
ing  race  protested  that  they  had  meant  only  a  frolic 
on  shore  to  bid  the  girls  "  good-bye."  All  the  cul 
prits  made  out  a  fair  defense  for  themselves  and 
were  soon  set  at  liberty  to  go  about  their  appointed 
tasks.  Thus  again  had  Semmes  proved  the  quali 
ties  of  firmness  and  quickness  tempered  with  judg 
ment. 

The  whole  force  was  needed  as  active  days  were 
immediately  at  hand.  Two  prizes  were  soon  in  the 
hands  of  Semmes,  the  Golden  Rule,  and  the  Chate 
laine.  The  islanders  of  St.  Domingo  and  Jamaica 
witnessed  a  bonfire  of  the  two  sail.  The  prisoners 
were  put  ashore  at  St.  Domingo,  where  the  Alabama 
anchored  for  a  few  hours  in  one  of  the  most  historic 
spots  of  the  New  World,  since  it  was  for  years  the 
chief  seat  of  the  Spanish  empire  in  the  western  hemi 
sphere.  Here  Col  ambus,  Cortez,  and  other  Spanish 
explorers  and  adventurers  had  lived  at  times.  The 
events  of  this  romantic  era  passed  through  Seniines' 
mind  ;  he  called  up  the  stirring  scenes  of  that  by 
gone  time  as  he  strolled  through  the  town,  loitered 
in  the  decaying  palace  and  mused  in  the  ruined 
cathedral. 


SOUTHWAKD  TO  CAPE  TOWN        219 

But  he  dared  not  tarry  ;  there  were  always  keen 
hounds  at  his  heels,  and  there  was  prey  for  him  to 
seek  and  fall  upon.  The  first  capture  after  quitting 
this  ancient  port  was  the  Palmetto,  which  was  soon 
lighting  the  waves,  as  the  Alabama  went  on  with 
her  quest.  She  next  ran  down  the  Olive  Jane  and 
the  Golden  Eagle.  The  former  was  filled  with  choice 
wine  and  delicacies  from  Bordeaux,  but  Semmes 
dared  not  put  the  cargo  at  the  disposal  of  his  crew, 
as  every  one  would  have  soon  been  drunk.  The 
fire  consumed  it  all.  It  was  pathetic  to  Semmes  to 
destroy  the  Golden  Eagle,  as  she  was  near  the  end 
of  a  long  voyage  from  San  Francisco  to  Cork.  ' i  This 
ship  had  buffeted  the  gales  of  the  frozen  latitudes  of 
Cape  Horn,  threaded  her  pathway  among  its  ice 
bergs,  been  parched  with  the  heats  of  the  tropics, 
and  drenched  with  the  rains  of  the  equator,  to  fall 
into  the  hands  of  her  enemy,  only  a  few  hundred 
miles  from  her  port."  She  was  freighted  with 
guano  of  the  best  quality,  which  would  have  en 
riched  the  fields  and  magnified  the  yield  several 
fold,  but  she  was  sacrificed  to  the  god  of  the  flames. 
The  prisoners  were  placed  on  the  Washington  the 
next  to  the  last  day  of  February,  as  she,  though 
American,  had  neutral  goods  aboard,  and  hence 
was  forwarded  under  bond. 


220  BAPHAEL  SEMMES 

Two  days  after  the  John  A.  Parks,  with  her  white 
pine  lumber,  delighted  Semmes'  carpenter,  as  he 
was  sorely  in  want  of  such  supplies.  She  was  docu 
mented  correctly,  but  unfortunately  for  her  a  letter 
in  her  bag  gave  away  the  deception  as  the  dealer 
chartering  the  boat  in  New  York  wrote  that  he  was 
going  to  have  the  cargo  "  certified  to  by  the  British 
consul  as  the  property  of  British  subjects.'7  She 
went  up  in  smoke  like  so  many  of  her  sisters.  Her 
unlucky  crew  saw  two  ships  bonded,  the  Betliiah 
Thayer  and  the  Punjaub,  on  the  last  of  which  they 
were  placed. 

Semmes  still  headed  south  and  came  near  crossing 
the  equator  with  the  sun  as  he  was  less  than  three 
degrees  north  on  March  21st.  Some  forty-eight 
hours  later  the  Morning  Star  and  the  Kingfisher  be 
came  his  victims.  The  former  sailed  on  under  bond. 
The  Kingfisher  was  a  whaler,  and  the  oil  in  her  hold 
made  the  flames  bravely  defiant  of  the  torrents  of 
rain  that  seemed  to  battle  for  her  against  the  raging 
fire.  With  the  thunder  rumbling,  and  the  black 
clouds  overhead,  the  Alabama  was  uniquely  cele 
brating  her  course  in  tropic  waters.  Before  the 
close  of  March,  she  had  two  more  bonfires  to  her 
credit,  though  not  with  such  dramatic  effects — the 
Charles  Sill  and  the  Nora.  Both  had  made  pitifully 


SOUTHWAED  TO  CAPE  TOWN        221 

awkward  attempts  to  document  their  cargoes  as 
neutral,  but  the  trick  was  too  transparent. 

On  the  third  of  April,  five  days  after  crossing  the 
line,  Semines  made  a  most  valuable  capture,  the 
Louisa  Hatch  with  her  thousand  tons  of  the  best 
Welsh  coal,  bound  for  Ceylon.  The  Alabama  was 
running  short  of  fuel,  and  was  headed  for  her  tryst- 
ing  place,  Fernando  de  Noronha,  to  meet  the 
Agrippina.  Semmes  knew  it  was  a  violation  of  the 
neutral  stand  of  Brazil  to  take  his  prize  into  the 
port  of  this  volcanic  island,  off  Cape  St.  Eoque, 
but  he  dared  attempt  it  as  it  was  out  of  the  question 
to  transfer  the  coal  on  the  high  seas. 

It  was  a  penal  station  for  Brazil.  "It  is  too 
insignificant  for  traffic,  and  has  no  good  harbor 
where  a  ship  could  repair  damages  or  refit. " 
Semmes7  arrival  was  announced,  and  he  began  to 
coal  from  the  Louisa  Hatch.  When  the  governor's 
messengers  came  aboard,  there  was  a  popping  of 
champagne  corks  and  a  clinking  of  glasses,  but  no 
objection  was  made  to  the  nearness  of  the  prizes, 
and  Semmes  continued  to  take  on  fuel. 

The  next  morning  he  went  ashore  to  pay  his  re 
spects  to  the  governor.  He  rode  the  governor's  horses 
up  to  the  mansion  and  sat  at  table  with  that  dig 
nitary,  whose  skin  was  about  the  color  "  of  tanned 


222  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

sole  leather,"  while  his  wife  "  was  a  very  sprightly 
and  not  uncomely  mulatto,"  and  the  two  children 
whom  Semines  praised  and  patted  on  the  head  had 
"  rather  kinky,  or  perhaps  I  should  say  early, 
hair."  Though  he  was  battling  for  the  South  in 
the  interest  of  slavery,  and  though  he  always  re 
fused  to  treat  negro  captives  as  prisoners,  it  was 
far  from  any  wish  of  Semmes  to  call  up  the  race 
issue  now,  as  he  "  was  a  man  of  the  world  and  was 
not  at  all  dismayed  "  at  the  discovery  that  he  was 
in  the  midst  of  a  family  of  inferior  blood.  He 
drank  the  wine,  smoked  the  cigars,  and  chatted  at 
full  ease  with  the  other  guests  at  the  levee  ;  then 
went  on  horseback  across  the  island,  stopped  at  a 
country  house,  where  he  ate  grapes,  figs,  melons 
and  the  delicious  "green  cocoanut." 

He  returned  that  afternoon  to  his  berth,  and  the 
next  morning  came  a  fat  turkey  and  a  beautiful 
bouquet  from  the  governors  wife,  who,  Semmes 
very  astutely  thought,  remembered  the  gentle  pat 
ting  of  her  children's  curly  heads.  It  was  plain 
sailing  henceforth.  "  My  diplomacy  from  this  time 
onward  was  all  right.  I  did  not  hear  a  word  from 
the  governor  or  any  one  in  authority  about  neutral 
rights  or  the  violation  of  neutral  jurisdictions. 
Brazil  had,  I  knew,  followed  the  lead  of  the  Euro- 


SOUTHWARD  TO  CAPE  TOWN        223 

pean  powers  in  excluding  prizes  from  her  ports, 
and  I  had  fully  expected  to  receive  some  re 
monstrance  against  my  bringing  in  the  Louisa 
Hatch,  but  niadame  was  too  strong  for  the  gov 
ernor." 

His  conquests  were  not  yet  over.  He  had  not  in 
the  least  counted  on  any  prize  in  this  unfrequented 
place,  but  just  as  he  got  on  his  last  boatload  of  coal 
"  the  ubiquitous  Yankee"  turned  up,  two  of  them 
at  the  same  time,  whalers.  They  heaved  to  out 
side,  and  the  two  masters  pulled  in  to  do  some 
bartering.  They  went  to  the  Louisa  Hatch  and 
very  amicably  struck  up  a  conversation  with  the 
prize  master,  who,  being  English,  tried  to  play 
American  as  thoroughly  as  he  could.  He  lied 
smoothly  and  pleasantly,  saying  that  his  boat  had 
sprung  a  leak  and  that  the  other  one  was  a  Brazilian 
packet.  Not  being  in  uniform  on  account  of  warmth 
and  rain,  he  was  getting  on  finely  when  a  Con 
federate  flag  was  accidentally  exposed.  Orders 
were  bawled  out  and  both  began  to  pull  back  to 
their  own  quarters.  But  the  Alabama  was  now 
ready,  and  she  passed  out  to  take  a  look.  There 
was  nothing  doubtful  about  the  nationality,  and  the 
Lafayette  and  the  Kate  Cory  increased  the  Alabama's 
list  by  two  names.  Both,  with  the  Hatch,  were 


224  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

burnt,  the  prisoners  from  all  three  vessels  being 
sent  to  Pernambuco  on  a  Brazilian  vessel. 

Semmes  could  now  carry  out  the  cherished  object 
of  cruising  off  the  coast  of  Brazil,  as  his  bunkers 
were  full,  his  crew  in  fine  shape,  and  his  ship  in 
the  best  order.  He  had  made  the  effort  with  the 
Sumter  but  had  been  forced  to  give  it  up.  He 
passed  out  of  the  tropical  rain  belt,  and  in  less  than 
twenty-four  hours  after  his  departure,  the  whaler, 
Nye,  with  over  four  hundred  barrels  of  oil,  on  her 
homeward  stretch  after  nearly  three  years'  absence, 
dropped  into  his  hands.  It  seemed  such  a  bitter 
disappointment  after  so  many  months  of  exposure 
to  all  the  fierceness  of  the  seas,  but  she  was  well 
soaked  in  oil  and  made  a  magnificent  blaze.  The 
Dorcas  Prince,  with  coal  for  the  far  China  coast, 
shared  the  same  fate.  A  day  or  so  later,  on  May 
3d,  there  were  two  more  victims,  the  Sea  Lark  and 
the  Union  Jack ;  they  were  trapped  in  two  hours. 
These  four  crews  crowded  the  Alabama,  the  more 
because  several  women  and  children  were  included 
among  them. 

Semmes  ran  into  Bahia,  the  second  port  of  the 
Brazilian  empire.  No  sooner  was  he  at  anchor  than, 
thanks  to  the  activity  of  a  United  States  consul,  he 
was  served  with  a  proclamation  of  the  President  of 


SOUTHWABD  TO  CAPE  TOWN        225 

the  Province  of  Pernambuco,  charging  him  with 
sundry  violations  of  neutrality  and  ordering  him  to 
depart  from  Fernando  de  Noronha  within  twenty  - 
four  hours,  where  it  was  supposed  that  he  still  was. 
Semmes'  answer  is  not  extant,  but  it  was  scarcely 
couched  in  gentle  terms.  Whatever  it  was,  it  was 
"perfectly  satisfactory,"  though  the  governor  kept 
asking  him  to  get  away.  Another  Confederate  ship, 
the  Georgia,  came  in  to  load  up  from  a  consort 
ordered  there,  the  Castor,  which,  being  a  neutral, 
had  the  right  to  land  her  coal,  and  then  the  Georgia 
and  the  Alabama  had  the  right  to  take  it  on  board. 
It  was  a  delicate  question  of  neutrality  that  Semmes 
raised  when  he  wanted  to  coal  direct  from  the  con 
sort,  but  finally  it  was  brought  off  to  him  in  lighters. 
With  these  two  Confederate  boats  in  Bahia,  and  the 
Florida  at  Peruambuco,  within  wiring  communica 
tion,  the  South  had  a  squadron  in  foreign  waters, 
perhaps  for  the  only  time  during  the  entire  four 
years  of  war. 

But  the  Alabama  went  her  way  alone,  and  soon 
had  at  her  belt  two  more  trophies,  the  Gildersleeve, 
which  was  burnt,  and  the  Justina,  which  was  sent 
on  under  bond,  with  the  prisoners.  Now  the 
Alabama's  powers  were  severely  tested.  She  espied 
a  competitor  in  speed  and  about  nine  in  the  evening 


226  RAPHAEL  SEMMES 

set  off  after  her.  She  put  on  all  sail,  had  her  best 
steersman  at  the  wheel,  and  all  night  she  strained  in 
the  chase  with  Semmes  on  deck.  At  half-past  seven 
the  next  morning,  after  a  race  of  eleven  hours,  she 
won,  and  found  her  prey  was  a  Dutchman.  Semmes 
admits  that  he  was  a  little  sour  at  his  breakfast,  and 
perhaps  excusably  so,  as  his  steed  had  never  been 
so  nearly  distanced. 

His  humor  was  softened  in  the  coming  few  days, 
when  the  Jabez  Snow  and.  the  Amazonian,  both  bound 
for  Montevideo,  the  first  with  coal,  the  other  with 
assorted  freight,  were  taken.  Both  went  up  in 
smoke.  An  Englishman  took  off  the  captives  in 
return  for  some  provisions  and  a  valuable  chro 
nometer. 

With  the  taking  of  the  Talisman,  on  which 
Semmes  noted  four  twelve-pounders,  he  determined 
to  commission  a  ship  himself,  as  he  could  spare  some 
officers  and  a  dozen  seamen,  and  arm  her  with  a 
couple  of  the  Talisman's  pieces.  He  did  not  have  to 
wait  long  after  burning  the  Talisman.  The  Conrad 
soon  fell  into  his  grip.  Being  u  a  tidy  little  bark  of 
about  three  hundred  and  fifty  tons,  with  good  sail 
ing  qualities,  I  resolved  to  commission  her  as  a 
cruiser.  .  .  .  Never  perhaps  was  a  ship  of  war 
fitted  out  so  promptly  before.  The  Conrad  was  a 


SOUTHWAKD  TO  CAPE  TOWN        227 

commissioned  ship,  with  armament,  crew,  and 
provisions  on  board,  flying  her  pennant  and  with 
sailing  orders,  signed,  sealed,  and  delivered,  before 
sunset  on  the  day  of  her  capture. "  Being  a  child  of 
the  Alabama,  it  was  meet  that  she  should  be  chris 
tened  the  Tuscaloosa,  after  the  town  of  that  name  in 
the  state  of  Alabama.  She  went  through  the  cere 
mony  far  out  on  the  ocean,  but  the  legitimacy  of  her 
birth  was  undoubted.  Semmes  placed  her  former 
crew  on  an  English  boat,  and  the  three  vessels  went 
their  several  ways. 

Semmes  turned  to  the  South  and  soon  came  to  the 
forks  of  the  road,  one  way  leading  to  Cape  Horn, 
and  the  other,  which  Semmes  took,  to  the  Cape  of 
Good  Hope.  But  before  going  far,  he  found  that 
his  bread  was  infested  with  weevils.  He  must  go 
back  to  Eio  de  Janeiro  unless  he  could  capture  a 
craft  with  a  supply  aboard.  Luck  saved  him  that 
long  trip  of  some  eight  hundred  miles  to  the  baker's 
shop,  as  the  Anna  F.  Schmidt  crossed  his  path  on  her 
journey  from  Boston  to  California.  She  had  heels 
also,  and  gave  the  Alabama  another  all  night  chase, 
but  it  was  worth  the  pursuit  as  she  not  only  had 
bread  ' l  put  up  in  the  nicest  kind  of  air-tight  casks, ' ' 
but  also  a  quantity  of  "  ready-made  clothing,  hats, 
boots,  and  shoes."  It  must  have  been  hard  to  put 


228  RAPHAEL  SEMMES 

the  torch  to  such  a  generous  mother  after  spending 
almost  a  day  in  ' l  robbing  "  her. 

After  two  more  exciting  experiences  Semmes 
dropped  anchor  in  Saldanha  Bay,  on  the  coast  of 
Africa,  not  far  from  Cape  Town.  But  before  set 
ting  foot  on  this  continent  for  the  first  time  in  his 
life,  he  had  a  long  race,  nearly  all  night,  after  a 
boat  that  answered  his  shot  with  another,  and  thus 
set  his  whole  force  on  edge,  as  they  felt  sure  of  a 
fight  with  the  enemy.  She  looked  almost  mountain 
high  as  the  Alabama  neared  her,  and  five  guns  could 
be  made  out  through  her  port-holes.  When  Kell  in 
thundering  tones  demanded,  "  What  ship  is  that  ?  " 
there  floated  back  the  quiet  answer  :  "  This  is  her 
Britannic  Majesty's  ship  Diomede."  A  few  remarks 
passed  and  each  went  on. 

Shortly  after,  the  god  of  the  waves  smiled  on 
Sernnies  as  the  Express  came  into  his  keeping.  Her 
guano,  though  really  the  property  of  the  Peruvian 
government,  was  not  properly  attested  and  Semmes 
treated  a  sovereign  power  just  as  he  would  have 
treated  an  individual.  There  was  not  the  proper 
legal  evidence  that  it  was  neutral,  and  hence  boat 
and  all  received  the  torch. 

Then  the  Alabama  glided  into  the  land-locked 
harbor  of  Saldauha  Bay,  with  an  anchorage  spacious 


SOUTHWABD  TO  CAPE  TOWN        229 

enough  to  accommodate  a  large  fleet.  Semrnes 
wanted  to  overhaul  his  vessel,  recaulk  inside  and 
out,  and  repaint.  He  had  also  to  learn  what  danger 
there  might  be  at  Cape  Town  as  the  fame  of  the 
"  British  pirate"  had  spread  to  these  distant  lands, 
and  one  or  two  United  States  cruisers  might  be  lying 
in  wait  thereabouts  for  him.  The  Boers  were  not 
inquisitive  on  neutrality  questions,  perhaps  did  not 
know  there  was  such  a  matter,  while  their  English 
overlords  were  more  than  content  to  let  it  all  alone 
unless  prodded  by  some  busy,  or  aggrieved  person. 
Nevertheless  the  South  Africans  were  very  curious 
about  this  strange  visitor.  They  flocked  in  from 
their  farms,  with  presents  of  game,  milk,  skins,  and 
horns,  went  over  the  boat  with  the  fresh  eagerness 
of  children,  wondered  at  the  hugeness  of  the  guns, 
tested  their  muscle  in  handling  the  hundred  pound 
shot,  and  invited  all  to  go  ashore,  hunt,  eat,  and 
partake  of  their  hospitality  generally.  As  many  as 
could  get  relief  from  the  work  on  the  ship  fished, 
shot  water  fowl,  or  enjoyed  other  diversions,  but 
none  returned  with  big  game. 

One  of  these  joyous  excursions  brought  the  only 
death  that  occurred  among  the  Alabama's  crew  dur 
ing  her  career  down  to  the  engagement  at  Cherbourg. 
A  young  engineer  officer,  in  pulling  his  fowling 


230  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

piece  toward  himself,  discharged  the  load  into  his 
heart.  Naturally  the  accident  carried  gloom  to  all 
the  little  band,  and  with  impressive  ceremony  he 
was  left  to  rest  in  the  graveyard  of  a  benevolent 
Dutch  farmer,  under  a  marble  slab. 

Having  satisfied  himself  that  no  adversary  was 
waiting  for  him  at  Cape  Town  and  having  been 
assured  of  English  friendliness  there,  Semmes  drew 
out  of  his  snug  retreat  and  sailed  for  the  objective, 
some  sixty  miles  away.  On  the  trip  he  spoke  his 
bantling,  the  Tuscaloosa,  which  had  not  yet  accom 
plished  anything  of  moment.  Semmes  continued 
toward  Cape  Town,  and  in  sight  of  the  point 
he  scooped  in  the  Sea  Bride,  from  New  York,  with 
goods  for  trading  along  the  African  coast.  It  was  a 
grand  spectacle,  and  a  gala  day  for  all  the  inhab 
itants  who  could  scramble  to  any  place  of  vantage 
for  viewing  it. 

A  daily  paper,  the  Argus,  gave  a  lively,  efflores 
cent  description  of  the  occasion  : 

"  Here  was  to  be  a  capture  by  the  celebrated  Con 
federate  craft,  close  to  the  entrance  of  Table  Bay. 
The  inhabitants  rushed  off  to  get  a  sight.  Crowds  of 
people  ran  up  the  Lion's  hill,  and  to  the  Kloof  road. 
All  the  cabs  were  chartered — every  one  of  them  ; 
.  .  .  no  questions  asked,  but  orders  were  given 
to  drive  as  hard  as  possible.  .  .  .  As  we  reached 


SOUTHWABD  TO  CAPE  TOWN        231 

the  corner,  there  lay  the  Alabama  within  fifty  yards 
of  the  unfortunate  Yankee.  .  .  .  The  Yankee 
was  evidently  taken  by  surprise.  .  .  .  Like  a 
cat  watching  and  playing  with  a  victimized  mouse, 
Captain  Semnies  permitted  his  prize  to  draw  off 
a  few  yards,  and  then  he  got  up  steam  again,  and 
pounced  down  upon  her.  She  first  sailed  round  the 
Yankee  from  stem  to  stern,  and  from  stern  to  stem 
again.  The  way  that  fine,  saucy,  rakish  craft  was 
handled  was  worth  going  a  hundred  miles  to  see. 
.  .  .  She  sent  a  boat  with  a  prize  crew  off, 
took  possession  .  .  .  and  sent  the  bark  off  to 
sea. 

"  The  Alabama  then  made  for  the  port.  We  came 
round  to  visit  Captain  Seinines  on  board.  .  .  . 
We  found  the  heights  .  .  .  covered  with 
people ;  the  road  .  .  .  lined  with  cabs.  .  .  . 
The  windows  were  all  thrown  up  and  ladies  waved 
their  handkerchiefs,  ...  all  joined  in  the 
general  enthusiasm.  .  .  .  There  were  masses  of 
people,  nothing  but  a  sea  of  heads  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach.  .  .  .  The  roofs  of  all  the  houses 
from  which  Table  Bay  is  overlooked  were  made 
available  as  standing  places  for  the  people.  .  .  . 
The  jetties  were  all  crowded ;  ...  it  was 
almost  impossible  to  ...  get  a  boat.  How 
ever  ...  we  did  get  a  boat,  and  went  off,  in 
the  midst  of  dingies,  cargo-boats,  gigs,  and  wherries, 
all  as  full  as  they  could  hold.  Nearly  all  the  city 
was  upon  the  bay.  .  .  .  On  getting  alongside 
the  Alabama,  we  found  about  a  dozen  boats  before 
us,  and  we  had  not  been  on  board  five  minutes  be 
fore  she  was  surrounded  by  nearly  every  boat  in 
Table  Bay,  and  as  boat  after  boat  arrived,  three 
hearty  cheers  were  given  for  Captain  Semmes  and 
his  gallant  privateer.  This,  upon  the  part  of  a 


232  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

neutral  people,  is  perchance  wrong  ;  but  we  are  not 
arguing  a  case — we  are  recording  facts.  They  did 
cheer,  and  cheer  with  a  will  too.  It  was  not  per 
haps  taking  the  view  of  either  side,  Federal  or  Con 
federate,  but  in  admiration  of  the  skill,  pluck,  and 
daring  of  the  Alabama,  her  captain  and  her  crew, 
who  afford  a  general  theme  of  admiration  the  world 
over. 

"  Visitors  were  received  by  the  officers  of  the  ship 
most  courteously  and  without  distinction,  and  the 
officers  conversed  freely  and  unreservedly  of  their 
exploits.  There  was  nothing  like  brag  in  their 
manner  of  answering  questions  put  to  them.  They 
are  as  fine  and  gentlemanly  a  set  of  fellows  as  ever 
we  saw.  .  .  .  She  had  a  very  large  crew,  fine, 
lithe-looking  fellows,  the  very  picture  of  English 
man-of-war's  men." 

Semmes  says  that  this  picture  of  the  interest 
aroused  by  the  Alabama  was  not  overdrawn,  as  the 
deck  was  so  crowded  that  one  could  hardly  stir,  and 
that,  too,  not  with  the  merely  curious  and  idle,  but 
with  "the  better  classes,  gentlemen  and  ladies  of 
distinction.7'  He  was  especially  gratified  at  the 
endorsement  of  the  ladies,  since,  he  declares,  "I 
have  always  found  the  instincts  of  women  to  be 
right. "  And  he  was  delighted  with  their  spon 
taneous  sympathy.  Of  course  the  officers  were  all 
hospitably  entertained  and  the  crew's  temper  for 
service  was  little  improved  by  the  incense  offered  to 
their  valor  and  fame. 


SOUTHWABD  TO  CAPE  TOWN        233 

The  international  aspect  of  the  capture  off  the 
harbor  that  all  the  town  had  rushed  to  see  led  to  a 
legal  contention.  The  alert  consul  claimed  that  it 
was  done  in  English  waters,  and  he  bolstered  up  his 
case  with  affidavits,  but  the  decision  went  to 
Semmes,  who  was  always  scrupulous  about  the 
marine  league.  Both  principle  and  policy  favored 
the  utmost  care,  as  it  would  be  short-sighted  to  fly 
in  the  face  of  such  good  friends  as  the  English.  He 
was  soon  tested  again.  On  his  way  to  Simon's 
Town  he  overhauled  the  Martha  Wenzel  within  the 
mouth  of  False  Bay.  Semmes  dumbfounded  the 
captain  by  "  releasing  instead  of  burning  his  ship," 
though  he  might  have  strained  the  evidence,  and 
have  held  the  boat  for  an  indefinite  time  while  the 
case  was  befogged  with  technicalities  and  delayed 
by  red  tape  to  a  tiresome  degree. 

He  did  not  stay  here  longer  than  necessary  to 
coal.  Having  ordered  the  Tuscaloosa  and  the  Sea 
Bride  to  go  to  Angra  Pequena  on  the  west  coast  of 
Africa,  he  pulled  out  into  the  great  roadway  around 
South  Africa,  keeping  a  lookout  for  his  prey,  but 
without  any  catches.  He  then  beat  his  way  up  to 
the  rendezvous,  sold  the  Sea  Bride  to  an  English 
man  for  English  sovereigns,  consigned  the  wool  on 
the  Tuscaloosa  to  dealers  for  sale,  two -thirds  of  the 


234  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

proceeds  to  be  credited  to  the  Confederacy  in  some 
English  bank.  All  these  transactions  in  a  port  of 
savage  Hottentots,  where  there  were  no  hints  of 
civilized  jurisdiction,  bordered  closely  on  the  ex 
ploits  of  pirates  of  several  centuries  before,  but  of 
course  the  aims  were  all  different  no  matter  how 
close  the  resemblance  in  the  steps  taken  to  gain 
them.  As  the  money  was  counted,  the  rich  clink 
of  gold  could  be  heard  by  the  sailors  as  they  passed 
conveniently  near,  but  so  well  were  they  disciplined 
that  there  was  not  a  murmur  of  discontent  among 
them  or  a  scowl  of  envy.  In  these  acts,  a  some 
what  suggesting  the  pranks  of  the  buccaneers,  our 
crew  were  as  well  held  in  hand  as  though  serving 
on  an  English  man-of-war  in  times  of  profound 
peace,  and  at  the  same  time  in  a  state  of  perfect 
contentment."  l 

The  trio  parted.  What  diplomatic  snarls  might 
have  been  heard  over  this  transfer  of  a  ship  in  the 
twilight  of  law  and  order  cannot  be  known,  but  all 
trouble  was  forestalled  by  the  loss  of  the  Sea  Bride 
on  the  African  coast  shortly  after.2  Semmes  him 
self  sailed  away  to  haunt  the  roadstead  off  the  Cape, 
but  all  to  no  purpose  in  spite  of  his  watchfulness. 

Sinclair,  "Two  Years  on  the  Alabama,"  p.  158. 
9 Ibid.,  p.  159. 


SOUTHWAED  TO  CAPE  TOWK        235 

Not  caring  to  put  into  Cape  Town  without  having 
had  any  fortune,  about  the  middle  of  September  he 
ran  into  Simon's  Town  again,  preparatory  to  his  in 
cursion  into  far  eastern  waters. 

While  on  sentry  duty  outside  one  night,  a  mighty 
ship  flew  past,  which  might  have  been  the  Vander- 
bilt.  Since  leaving  the  island  of  Jamaica,  amid  all 
her  wanderings  southward,  zigzagging  across  the 
Atlantic,  the  Alabama  had  sighted  no  war  vessel  of 
her  enemy,  though  the  faithful  hounds  of  the  hunt 
had  unflaggingly  followed  her  "cold  trail."  A 
fox-sleuth  was  the  Vanderbilt,  presented  to  the 
United  States  government  by,  and  named  in  honor 
of,  one  of  the  first  multi-millionaires  of  the  new 
world.  Like  a  shuttlecock,  she  had  been  steaming 
between  Cape  Town  and  Simon's  Town,  and  one 
day  the  two  boats  were  almost  in  sight  of  each 
other's  smoke.  She  won  the  admiration  of  the  Ala 
bama's  staff.  Sinclair  considered  that  her  captain, 
Baldwin,  had  used  the  best  judgment.  He  had  fol 
lowed  his  prey  from  the  West  Indies  to  the  Brazil 
thoroughfare,  and  thence  to  the  Cape  without  loss 
of  the  scent  at  any  time.  But  it  took  eighty  tons  of 
coal  a  day  to  heat  her  boilers,  and  in  consequence 
she  had  to  retrace  her  steps  and  lose  time.  Except 
for  such  a  contingency  she  might  have  been  stationed 


236  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

in  the  Strait  of  Sunda,  to  grapple  with  the  Alabama 
there,  and  the  famous  conflict  might  have  been 
viewed  by  naked  East  Indian  islanders  instead  of 
the  polite  natives  of  France. 

These  lurking  dangers  from  man  and  the  ever- 
present  perils  of  the  sea  would  wear  on  nerves  of 
steel.  The  Alabama  was  unscathed,  the  plaudits  of 
the  English  swelled  around  her,  the  eyes  of  the  world 
were  turned  toward  her,  but  her  resolute,  self-con 
tained  commander  was  growing  weary  from  the 
strain  of  his  anxious  service.  No  man  heard  it 
from  his  lips,  no  shade  of  it  flitted  over  his  face,  but 
it  trickled  from  his  pen  on  the  pages  of  his  diary, 
that  solace  of  the  solitary  soul  shut  off  from  fellow 
creatures,  yearning  to  commune  with  some  one. 

Perhaps  his  spirits  were  sinking  with  the  waning 
of  Confederate  hopes,  or  melancholy  was  creeping 
on  him  with  his  increasing  distance  from  home,  as 
he  approached  the  antipodal  point  in  the  Southern 
hemisphere  from  his  own  hearth  and  fireside.  At 
any  rate,  from  some  or  all  these  influences,  the  note 
of  depression  began  to  sound  in  his  confidential  ut 
terances. 

Down  in  the  wintry  air  of  the  Southern  hemi 
sphere,  he  felt  the  change  :  "  I  am  quite  knocked  up 
with  cold  and  fever,  but  sick  as  I  may  be,  I  can 


SOUTHWAKD  TO  CAPE  TOWN        237 

never  lie  by,  and  be  quiet,  the  demands  of  duty 
being  inexorable  and  incessant." 

The  physical  despondency  grew  on  him,  and  some 
two  weeks  later  he  wrote  :  ' '  Ship  rolling  and  pitch 
ing  in  the  sea  and  all  things  dreary  looking  and  un 
comfortable.  I  am  supremely  disgusted  with  the 
sea  and  all  its  belongings.  The  fact  is  I  am  past 
the  age  when  men  ought  to  be  subjected  to  all  the 
hardships  and  discomforts  of  the  sea.  Seagoing  is 
one  of  those  constant  strifes  which  none  but  the 
vigorous,  the  hardy,  and  the  hopeful — in  short,  the 
youthful,  or  at  most  the  middle-aged — should  be  en 
gaged  in.  The  very  roar  of  the  wind  through  the 
rigging  with  its  accompaniment  of  rolling,  and 
trembling,  hard,  overcast  skies,  etc.,  gives  me  the 
blues." 

Several  days  afterward,  he  imparted  to  the  silent 
receptacle  of  his  thoughts  and  feelings  one  Sunday 
when  the  regular  muster  was  over  :  "  How  tiresome 
is  the  routine  of  cruising  becoming.  An  ugly,  short, 
chopping  sea  got  up  during  the  night  into  which 
the  ship  plunged  and  rolled  so  as  to  awaken  me 
every  now  and  then."  1 

Amid  these  physical  distresses  and  mental  dis 
cordances,  about  the  middle  of  October,  he  calcu- 

1  "  Naval  War  Records,"  Series  I,  Vol.  II,  pp.  762-5. 


238  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

lated  that  he  was  almost  diametrically  opposite  the 
dearest  spot  on  earth  to  him  :  "  I  am  to-day  about 
antipodal  with  my  home  in  Alabama."  But  he 
drew  one  consolation  from  his  position  :  i t  Well, 
there  is  one  comfort,  I  cannot  very  well  get  any 
farther  away  from  home.  Every  day's  run  from 
this  point,  whether  east  or  west,  must  carry  me 
nearer  to  it."  But  neither  the  weaknesses  of  the 
flesh  nor  the  anguish  of  the  heart  could  obscure  his 
insight  or  slacken  his  energy. 


CHAPTEE  XII 

IN  EASTERN  WATERS 

SEMMES  had  hunted  over  the  marine  roads  of  the 
Atlantic,  passing  from  winter  in  the  north  to  winter 
in  the  south,  with  all  the  attendant  afflictions  of 
these  extremes.  With  the  few  other  Confederate 
cruisers,  he  had  practically  swept  the  flag  of  the 
United  States  from  the  commercial  highways  of  that 
greatest  area  of  water  transportation  in  the  world. 
If  he  was  to  beat  up  more  game,  he  must  hunt  in 
other  fields.  Under  directions  from  Secretary  Mai- 
lory,  he  was  now  to  cross  the  Indian  Ocean. 

But  he  must  first  replenish  his  crew,  which  had 
been  reduced  by  the  dissipations  and  debaucheries 
of  Cape  Town,  and  seduced  by  the  purse  and  the 
promises  of  the  wily  and  indomitable  American 
consul  there.  Though  Semmes  applied  to  the  po 
lice  and  they  were  willing  to  do  all  they  could, 
there  were  the  barriers  of  extra-territoriality  around 
the  consul.  In  some  cases,  the  sailors  found  refuge 
within  the  consular  grounds,  or  at  least  claimed 
protection. 


240  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

Semmes,  however,  was  not  the  man  to  be  balked 
by  any  but  impassable  obstacles.  He  was  also  a 
master  of  the  nicest  strategy  and  the  most  delicate 
diplomacy.  He  might  violate  the  spirit  of  neu 
trality,  but  he  must  not  ruffle  the  form  in  the  slight 
est.  The  fourteen  men  lost  by  desertion  must  be 
replaced  in  a  manner  consonant  with  the  respect 
due  her  Majesty,  whose  subjects  in  South  Africa 
had  been  so  cordial  to  the  Alabama. 

He  reasoned  out  the  case  very  logically :  "I  said 
to  myself,  my  sailors  have  gone  on  shore  in  her 
Majesty's  dominions  and  refuse  to  come  back  to 
me.  When  I  apply  to  her  Majesty's  police,  they 
tell  me  that  so  sacred  is  the  soil  of  England,  no  man 
must  be  coerced  to  do  what  he  doesn't  want  to  do. 
Good  !  I  reply,  a  ship  of  war  is  a  part  of  the  terri 
tory  to  which  she  belongs,  and  that  if  some  of  the 
subjects  of  the  Queen  should  think  proper  to  come 
into  my  territory,  and  refuse  to  go  back,  I  may 
surely  apply  the  same  principle  and  refuse  to  com 
pel  them." 

At  this  juncture  a  landlord  came  along  to  say 
that  he  had  eleven  boarders  ready  to  volunteer. 
Semmes  turned  to  him  and  quietly  said,  "  And  so 
you  have  some  gentlemen  boarding  at  your  house 
who  desire  to  take  passage  with  me  ? "  It  is  thus 


IN  EASTEEN  WATEES  241 

that  he  tells  of  the  incident :  "  The  landlord  smiled 
and  nodded  assent.  I  continued,  '  You  know  I  can 
not  ship  seamen  in  her  Majesty 's  ports,  but  I  see  no 
reason  why  I  should  not  take  passengers  to  sea  with 
me  if  they  desire  to  go.'  '  Certainly,  your  honor — 
they  can  work  their  passage,  you  know.'  'I  sup 
pose  you  will  charge  something  for  bringing  these 
gentlemen  on  board?'  i Somewhat,  your  honor.' 
Here  the  landlord  pulled  out  a  memorandum  and 
began  to  read.  *  Bill  Bunting,  board  and  lodging, 
ten  shillings — drinks,  one  pound  ten.  Tom  Bow 
line,  board  and  lodging,  six  shillings— Tom  only 
landed  yesterday  from  a  Dutch  ship — drinks,  twelve 
shillings.'  'Hold,'  said  I,  ' never  mind  the  board 
and  lodging  and  drinks— go  to  the  paymaster' — 
and  turning  to  Kell,  I  told  him  to  give  the  pay 
master  the  necessary  instructions, — 'and  he  will 
pay  you  your  fares  for  bringing  the  passengers  on 
board.'  The  'passengers'  were  already  alongside, 
and,  being  sent  down  to  the  surgeon,  were  ex 
amined,  and  passed  as  sound  and  able-bodied  men." 
It  was  nine  at  night  before  all  was  ready,  and, 
though  a  stiff  gale  was  blowing,  Semmes  got  off ;  he 
was  afraid  the  VanderUlt,  which  was  faster  than  the 
Alabama  and  threw  twice  as  much  metal,  might 
come  up  and  blockade  him.  He  headed  his  boat, 


242  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

under  steam,  against  wind  and  wave.  "This 
struggle  of  the  little  ship  with  the  elements  was 
a  thing  to  be  remembered.  The  moon  .  .  .  was 
near  her  full,  shedding  a  flood  of  light  upon  the 
scene.  The  bay  was  whitened  with  foam,  as  the 
waters  were  lashed  into  fury  by  the  storm.  Around 
the  curve  of  the  '  horseshoe '  arose  broken,  bald, 
rocky  mountains,  on  the  crests  of  which  were  piled 
fleecy  white  clouds,  blinking  in  the  moonlight  like 
banks  of  snow.  It  appeared  as  if  the  Devil  .  .  . 
had  touched  the  mountains  with  the  stillness  of 
death,  and  wreathed  them  with  winding  sheets. 
The  scene  was  wild  and  weird  beyond  description. 
It  was  a  picture  for  the  eye  of  poet  or  painter  to 
dwell  upon.  Nor  was  the  imagination  less  touched, 
when  from  time  to  time  the  revolving  light  upon 
the  grim  old  Cape — that  Cape  which  had  so  long 
divided  the  Eastern  from  the  Western  world — 
threw  its  full  blaze  upon  the  deck  of  the  struggling 
ship.  Overhead  the  sky  was  perfectly  clear,  there 
being  not  so  much  as  a  speck  of  cloud  to  be  seen — 
and  this  in  the  midst  of  a  howling  gale  of  wind. 
At  three  A.  M.  we  cleared  the  Cape,  and,  keeping 
the  ship  off  a  few  points,  gave  her  the  trysails  with 
the  bonnets  off.  She  bounded  over  the  seas  like  a 
stag  hound  unleashed.  I  had  been  up  all  night, 


IN  EASTEBN  WATEBS  243 

aud  now  went  below  to  snatch  some  brief  repose 
before  the  toils  of  another  day  should  begin. " 

Thus  he  set  off.  Six  months  would  elapse  before 
he  should  see  the  stormy  Cape  of  Good  Hope  again. 
He  made  south  at  once  for  the  fortieth  parallel  to 
follow  that  for  his  easting,  so  as  to  get  the  push 
from  the  "  brave  west  winds  "  that  blow  so  steadily 
all  the  year  round  in  the  Indian  Ocean,  since  they 
are  not  interrupted  by  any  large  bodies  of  land. 
They  are  also  more  unfavorably  known  as  "  the 
roaring  forties,"  and  Semmes  found  them  deserving 
of  their  evil  name. 

He  passed  in  sight  of  two  lonely  islets,  St.  Peter 
and  St.  Paul,  in  the  faint  hope  of  sighting  some 
whalers  there,  as  that  was  a  sort  of  rendezvous  for 
them  ;  but  no  sail  rewarded  his  search.  The  gales, 
unimpeded  by  any  headlands  of  size,  piled  up 
enormous  rollers  that  came  towering  over  Semmes' 
ship.  After  passing  these  specks  of  rock,  he  ran 
into  another  gale.  "  The  scene  was  a  sublime  one 
to  look  upon.  The  seas— those  long  swells  before 
described — were  literally  running  mountains  high, 
the  wind  was  howling  with  more  than  usual  fury, 
and  a  dense  snow-storm  was  pelting  us  from  the 
blackest  and  most  angry  looking  of  clouds."  This 
storm  subsided  only  to  be  succeeded  by  another  one 


244  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

in  which  the  ship  lay  for  ten  hours.  One  of  the 
crew  graphically  wrote  of  some  of  these  storms  : 
"  We  were  actually  running  in  a  deep  valley  be 
tween  hills  of  dark  green  water,  and  striking  a  huge 
cross  wave  that  would  bury  our  bows,  bringing  the 
vessel  to  with  a  shock  that  made  her  vibrate  in 
every  timber. "  l  So  gallant  and  staunch  was  the 
ship,  however,  that,  in  spite  of  "every  variety  of 
bad  weather,7'  she  made  some  4,400  miles  in  twenty- 
four  days,  about  178  miles  daily. 

Semines  turned  northward  and  soon  the  atmos 
phere  became  softer  and  gentler.  The  men  aired 
their  bedding  and  mended  their  garments.  Word 
was  spread  around  that  the  United  States  gunboat 
Wyoming  was  waiting  for  them.  Things  were  put 
to  rights  and  drilling  went  forward  almost  daily. 
"  The  ship  is  soon  sparkling  as  a  diamond,  in  fresh 
paint  and  polished  brasswork,  and  is  verily  a  nau 
tical  school.  .  .  .  The  various  warlike  exercises 
are  going  on  for  hours  together.  .  .  .  It  is  an 
active  and  at  times  stirring  and  exciting  drill,  par 
ticularly  in  the  boarding  rushes  where  examples  of 
wonderful  activity  and  quickness  may  be  observed  ; 
for  Jack  takes  real  interest  in  his  exercises  and 
studies,  if  we  except  the  handling  of  small  fire- 

1  "The  Cruise  of  the  Alabama,"  p.  99. 


IN  EASTEEN  WATEES  245 

arms.  .  .  .  He  lias  a  thorough  contempt  for 
this  sort  of  weapon  ;  ...  he  will  slight  and 
avoid  it  as  far  as  he  dares  to  the  bitter  end.  .  .  . 
Later  on  the  news  that  the  Wyoming  is  holding  the 
passage  of  the  strait  emphasizes  the  excitement,  and 
the  crew  feel  that  something  more  than  playing 
fighting  may  take  place  in  a  few  hours. "  l 

In  the  latter  part  of  October,  an  English  ship 
gave  the  definite  information  that  the  Wyoming  was 
cruising  in  the  Strait  of  Sunda,  but  anchoring  every 
night  under  the  island  of  Krakatoa,  which  just  a 
score  of  years  later  blew  up,  causing  nearly  forty 
thousand  souls  to  perish,  the  most  awful  natural 
catastrophe  that  history  records.  As  Semmes  drew 
near  this  narrow  passage,  numerous  sail  were  seen, 
but  all  neutral  except  one,  the  Amanda,  the  first 
catch  on  this  trip.  Her  hemp  and  sugar  were  not 
protected,  as  the  awkward  certificates  that  claimed 
the  property  for  British  subjects  had  not  been  sworn 
to,  and  hence  all,  with  the  ship,  went  to  the  torch, 
throwing  "a  grim  and  ominous  glare  to  the  very 
mouth  of  the  strait. " 

Even  this  conflagration  at  night  did  not  draw  the 
Wyoming.  After  resting  in  the  narrow  channel  one 
evening,  Semmes  passed  on,  and  at  the  other  en- 
1  Sinclair,  "Two  Years  on  the  Alabama,"  p.  168.  . 


246  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

trance  bagged  the  Winged  Racer,  "  a  perfect  beauty 
— one  of  those  New  York  ships  of  superb  model, 
with  taut,  graceful  masts,  and  square  yards,  known 
as  clippers, "  with  a  cargo  chiefly  of  sugar,  hides  and 
jute,  and  some  provisions.  These  last  the  Alabama 
took  in  large  part,  but  allowed  the  two  captured 
crews  at  their  request  to  supply  themselves  with  all 
that  the  rowboats  could  carry  to  Batavia.  Thus 
"  robbed/'  the  ship  made  a  bonfire  in  the  darkness, 
and  the  historic  Strait  of  Sunda  was  lighted  up  at 
both  ends.  All  merchant  craft  had  now  such  clear 
warning  that  Semines  felt  it  was  useless  to  hover 
here  longer,  and  he  shot  out  into  the  China  Sea. 

Now  came  a  severe  test  for  the  Alabama,  and  she 
showed  her  age,  and  the  effects  of  the  straining  and 
racking  she  had  undergone  in  her  arduous  days 
since  leaving  Liverpool.  A  fine  clipper  ship,  the 
Contest,  was  sighted.  Four  miles  away,  she  was  or 
dered  to  heave  to,  but  instead  of  l '  obeying  our  com 
mand,  the  gallant  ship  kept  off  a  point  or  two,  prob 
ably  her  best  point  of  sailing— gave  herself  top-gal 
lant  and  topmast  studdiugsails  and  away  she  went. 

"  The  breeze  was  tolerably  fresh  but  not  stiff. 
.  .  .  The  chase  was  evidently  gaining  on  us.  It 
was  some  fifteen  or  twenty  minutes  before  the  en 
gineer  had  a  head  of  steam  on.  We  now  gave  the 


IN  EASTEEN  WATEES  247 

ship  all  steam,  and  trimmed  the  sails  to  the  best 
possible  advantage.  Still  the  fugitive  ship  retained 
her  distance  from  us,  if  she  did  not  increase  it.  It 
was  the  first  time  the  Alabama  had  appeared  dull. 
She  was  under  both  sail  and  steam,  and  yet  here 
was  a  ship  threatening  to  run  away  from  her.  She 
must  surely  be  out  of  trim.  I  tried  therefore  the 
effect  of  getting  my  crew  aft  on  the  quarter-deck, 
and  shifting  aft  some  of  the  forward  guns.  This 
helped  us  visibly,  and  the  ship  sprang  forward  with 
increased  speed.  We  were  now  at  least  holding  our 
own,  but  it  was  impossible  to  say  as  yet  whether  we 
were  gaining  an  inch.  If  the  breeze  had  freshened, 
the  chase  would  have  run  away  from  us  beyond  all 
question.  I  watched  the  signs  of  the  weather  anx 
iously.  It  was  between  nine  and  ten  o>  clock  A.  M. 
Fortunately  as  the  sun  gained  power  and  drove 
away  the  mists  of  the  morning,  the  breeze  began  to 
decline.  Now  came  the  triumph  of  steam.  When 
we  had  come  within  long  range,  I  threw  the  spray 
over  the  quarter-deck  of  the  chase  with  a  rifle  shot 
from  my  bow  chaser.  Still  she  kept  on,  and  it  was 
not  until  all  hope  was  evidently  lost  that  the  proud 
clipper  ship,  which  had  been  beaten  rather  by  the 
failure  of  the  wind  than  the  speed  of  the  Alabama, 
shortened  sail  and  hove  to." 


248  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

Semmes  cordially  congratulated  the  captain  on  his 
skilful  handling  of  his  ship,  and  expressed  his  re 
gret  that  he  must  burn  her  and  her  cargo  of  Japa 
nese  goods.  He  stretched  on  northward  through 
the  Karimata  Strait,  and  lay  to  at  Souriton  Island 
while  he  sent  out  his  launch  to  cruise  around  for 
merchantmen.  Though  he  got  no  reward  for  this 
effort,  he  overhauled  a  larger  number  of  ships,  and 
got  one  of  them,  an  Englishman,  to  take  his  pris 
oners  to  Batavia. 

Beating  among  the  myriad  islands  of  the  East  In 
dian  archipelago,  he  crossed  and  skirted  the  west 
coast  of  Borneo  for  many  miles,  and  then  went  over 
the  China  Sea  to  Cochin  China,  and  to  Pulo  Con- 
dore,  a  coral  island,  opposite  the  mouths  of  the 
Mekong  Eiver.  Expecting  to  find  it  uninhabited 
except  by  Malays,  he  counted  on  making  it  tempo 
rary  Confederate  soil  as  he  had  done  with  Angra 
Pequena,  on  the  west  coast  of  Africa ;  but  to  his 
astonishment  he  saw  the  French  flag  in  the  harbor, 
and  met  the  French  governor  in  control,  that  nation 
having  taken  possession  two  years  before.  He  was 
a  most  courteous,  generous  fellow,  and  received  the 
Alabama  with  due  honor,  made  presents  of  food  to 
the  crew,  and  gave  the  whole  force  the  run  of  the 
land.  Being  hardly  more  than  a  beardless  youth,  he 


IN  EASTERN  WATEKS  249 

had  very  likely  never  heard  of  those  thorny  thickets 
of  belligerent  rights  and  neutral  limitations.  At 
least  he  asked  no  embarrassing  questions  and  threw 
out  no  meddlesome  hints  as  to  Semmes'  length  of 
stay.  Untrarnineled  in  movement,  undisturbed  by 
points  of  international  etiquette,  the  crew  when  off 
duty  disported  themselves  at  will, — swimming,  fish 
ing,  hunting,  exploring  every  cranny  of  the  island, 
studying  the  antics  of  the  monkeys,  bagging  huge 
vampires,  killing  snakes,  getting  fresh  meat,  fruits 
and  vegetables.  One  of  the  sailors,  of  whom  we 
shall  hear  in  noble  roles  later,  was  an  adept  in  a 
peculiar  exercise  with  the  serpents.  It  was  his 
pride  to  catch  a  dangerous  reptile  by  the  tail,  and 
while  swinging  him  out  at  full  length,  give  a  sudden 
snap  as  one  does  in  cracking  a  whip,  and  break  the 
creature's  neck. 

But  there  were  no  dance-halls  and  no  rum  shops 
ashore  here,  so  Jack  had  full  leave  when  not  at 
work  ;  and  there  was  no  insubordination.  It  was  a 
fortnight  of  rest  and  ease  and  healthy  relaxation ; 
it  was  a  better,  stronger  crew  at  the  end. 

In  the  meantime  very  serious  and  difficult  work 
had  been  done  on  the  ship  to  improve  her  speed. 
Some  of  the  copper  had  fallen  off  below  the  water 
line.  There  was  enough  mechanical  ability  aboard 


250  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

to  construct  a  sort  of  coffer  to  fit  along  the  hull  so 
closely  that  the  water  could  be  pumped  out,  leaving 
a  dry  box  for  the  men  to  work  in  to  replace  the 
sheets,  and  make  other  repairs. 

After  these  two  weeks  of  wholesome  enjoyment 
and  pleasure,  the  boat  set  out  for  Singapore.  Here 
Sernmes  unlocked  the  mystery  of  the  disappearance 
of  the  American  flag  from  these  far  eastern  routes. 
He  saw  twenty-two  ships  tied  up  in  the  harbor,  and 
he  learned  of  some  eight  or  ten  others  at  different 
ports  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Asia.  The  rays  from 
the  two  bonfires  in  the  Strait  of  Sunda  had 
frightened  the  fleet  so  badly  that  all  were  idly 
moored  in  some  haven.  They  would  certainly  not 
leave  these  secure  retreats  so  long  as  there  was 
danger.  The  Alabama  could  not  seize  them,  but 
once  she  was  away,  they  might  creep  out  and  make 
a  dash  for  home,  and  she  might  be  able  to  pounce 
down  on  some  of  them. 

Her  sending  the  American  coveys  scurrying  to 
cover  had  unintentionally  inconvenienced  her  best 
friends  in  some  amusing  ways.  An  English  official 
relates  a  humorous  instance  of  the  complaint  made 
in  a  social  club  whose  members  otherwise  sympa 
thized  strongly  with  the  South  :  "  One  hot  season 
when  Madras  lay  gasping  for  breath,  there  were  no 


IN  EASTERN  WATERS  251 

cooling  drinks  to  be  had — the  ice  ship  from  Boston 
to  Madras  had  not  arrived.  The  Alabama  was 
known  to  be  out,  and  to  her  account  the  fact  of  the 
ice  ship's  being  missing  was  at  once  laid.  The 
Southern  cause  had  many  supporters  among  us  at 
the  time  but  .  .  .  had  not  our  mess  rights 
.  .  .  been  violated?  So,  for  a  time  at  least, 
there  was  pause  in  debate  among  us,  until  one  day 
the  ice  ship  was  seen  in  the  offing,  and  the  Federal 
cause  went  down  again  to  zero  like  the  temperature 
in  our  tumblers. "  l 

In  Singapore,  the  meeting  center  for  all  Asiatic 
peoples,  Semmes  could  gather  up  all  the  threads  of 
rumors  about  his  career  and  his  purposes,  but  he 
stayed  only  long  enough  to  see  the  uselessness  of  re 
maining  in  the  East.  So  he  repaired  his  boat,  took  on 
coal,  and,  so  far  as  the  exigencies  of  the  situation 
permitted,  accepted  the  English  hospitalities  which 
were  profusely  offered.  The  recreations  and  amuse 
ments  of  the  land  seduced  some  half  dozen  of 
Semmes'  fellows  to  desert,  while  many  of  the  rest 
were  bodily  dragged  aboard  by  searching  parties 
from  the  vessel. 

Semmes'  retirement  from  Eastern  waters  was  all 
the  more  to  be  recommended  in  view  of  the  fact  that 
JSir  William  Butler's  "  Autobiography,"  pp.  42-43. 


252  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

his  sliip's  strength  and  usefulness  were  much  im 
paired.  The  copper  on  the  bottom,  which  could 
not  be  reached  unless  in  dry  dock,  was  falling  off  in 
sheets.  The  constant  fires  in  the  furnace  prevented 
cleaning,  so  that  the  boilers  were  dangerously  weak. 
As  there  were  no  facilities  in  that  distant  quarter  for 
putting  her  in  trim  again,  he  determined  to  cross  to 
the  shores  of  India,  coast  along  the  peninsula  around 
to  the  western  side,  thence  sailing  for  the  east  line 
of  Africa,  and  on  southward  to  Cape  Town  once 
more. 

Sernines  hauled  out  into  the  strait  and  started  on 
his  trip.  The  next  day,  he  himself  for  the  first  and 
last  time  during  the  war  boarded  a  prize,  the  Texan 
Star,  or  Martdban.  When  sighted,  she  looked 
American,  but  was  flying  the  English  colors.  The 
boarding  officer  found  all  the  papers  regular,  but  as 
she  had  been  transferred  within  the  last  ten  days 
from  American  to  British  ownership,  and  as  the 
general  appearances  were  all  American,  he  requested 
the  captain  to  go  aboard  the  Alabama  to  visit 
Semmes.  He  refusing  and  Senimes  having  no 
authority  to  compel  a  foreigner  to  come  aboard, 
there  was  nothing  to  be  done  except  for  the  captain 
of  the  Alabama  to  go  to  the  other  boat.  As  he 
noted  her  graceful  lines,  and  splendid  sails  and  rig- 


IN  EASTEKN  WATERS  253 

giDg,  Seinmes  could  see  only  ' l  American 7 '  written 
all  over  her.  The  figures  and  faces  of  the  officers 
almost  shouted  u  New  England"  to  him.  These 
traits  were  still  more  impressed  on  the  captain  of 
the  captive.  "  No  amount  of  English  custom  house 
paper  or  sealing  wax  could  by  any  possibility  con 
vert  him  into  that  rotund,  florid,  jocund  Briton  who 
personates  the  English  shipmaster.7' 

"  When  the  papers  were  produced,  I  found  among 
them  no  bill  of  sale  or  other  evidence  of  the  transfer 
of  the  property.  .  .  .  His  crew  list,  which  had 
been  very  neatly  prepared,  was  a  mute  but  power 
ful  witness  against  him.  It  was  written  throughout, 
signatures  and  all,  in  the  same  hand— the  signatures 
all  being  as  like  as  two  peas.  After  glancing  at  the 
papers,  and  making  these  mental  observations  as  I 
went  along,  I  asked  the  master  a  few  questions.  As 
well  as  I  recollect  he  was  from  Hallowell,  Maine. 
His  ship  had  been  two  years  in  the  East  Indies, 
trading  from  port  to  port.  .  .  .  The  freshly 
painted  assumed  name  on  her  stern  was  scarcely  dry. 
The  master  had  sat  with  comparative  composure 
during  this  examination  and  questioning,  relying 
with  great  confidence  upon  his  English  flag  and 
papers ;  but  when  I  turned  to  him  and  told  him  that 
I  should  burn  his  ship,  he  sprang  from  his  chair, 


254  RAPHAEL  SEMMES 

and  said  with  excited  manner  and  voice :  i  You  dare 
not  do  it,  sir.  That  flag/  pointing  to  the  flag  flying 
from  his  peak,  '  won't  stand  it.'  i  Keep  cool,  cap 
tain,  '  I  replied  j  '  the  weather  is  warm,  and  as  for 
the  flag,  I  shall  not  ask  it  whether  it  will  stand  it  or 
not — the  flag  that  ought  to  be  at  your  peak  will 
have  to  stand  it  though.7  In  half  an  hour  .  .  . 
the  Texan  Star,  alias  Martaban,  was  in  flames." 

It  was  a  daring  thing  to  do,  almost  a  foolhardy 
one,  as  Semmes  was  taking  desperate  chances  of  a 
mistake  that  might  have  been  fatal.  If  it  had 
turned  out  to  be  a  bonafide  sale,  then  he  would  have 
affronted  the  only  friends  he  had  in  this  eastern 
venture.  But  his  insight  was  keen,  his  judgment 
true,  as  subsequent  confession  proved. 

In  the  afternoon,  after  the  captain  had  had  leisure 
to  calm  down  and  think  matters  over,  he  was  called 
into  Semmes'  cabin,  put  under  oath  before  the  prize 
court,  and  addressed:  "Now,  captain,  when  you 
and  I  had  that  little  conversation  in  your  cabin, 
you  had  hopes  of  saving  your  ship,  and  moreover 
what  you  said  to  me  was  not  under  oath.  You  were 
perhaps  only  practicing  a  pardonable  ruse  de  guerre. 
But  now  the  case  is  altered.  Your  ship  being  des 
troyed,  you  have  no  longer  any  possible  interest 
in  misstating  the  truth.  Be  frank  ;  was,  or  was 


IN  EASTERN  WATEES  255 

not,  the  transfer  of  your  ship  a  bona  fide  transac 
tion?" 

"I  will  be  frank  with  you,  captain,"  he  replied. 
"  It  was  not  a  bona  fide  transaction.  I  was  alarmed 
when  I  heard  of  your  arrival  in  the  East  Indies,  and 
I  resorted  to  a  sham  sale  in  the  hope  of  saving  my 
ship."  Semmes  tersely  remarks  :  "Upon  this  an 
swer  being  recorded,  the  court  adjourned."  That 
night  the  captives  were  landed  on  English  territory. 

Some  two  days  later,  on  the  morning  after  Christ 
mas,  1863,  two  Massachusetts  boats,  in  ballast,  were 
captured,  the  Sonora  and  the  Highlander,  both 
"monster  ships"  of  some  twelve  hundred  tons 
burden.  They  had  been  safe  in  Singapore  harbor. 
Judging  that  the  Alabama  had  gone  on  up  the 
Asiatic  coast,  they  had  started  through  the  Straits 
of  Malacca,  but  had  been  delayed  by  head  winds 
and  were  at  anchor  waiting  for  a  fair  breeze  to  bear 
them  on  out  into  the  Indian  Ocean.  One  of  the 
captains  took  the  mishap  quite  good-humoredly. 
As  he  came  on  the  Alabama"* ]s  deck,  he  offered  his 
hand,  and  cheerily  said  :  "  Well,  Captain  Semmes, 
I  have  been  expecting  every  day  for  the  last  three 
years  to  fall  in  with  you,  and  here  I  am  at  last. ' ' 
Semmes  pleasantly  replied  that  it  was  a  nice  thing 
to  find  him  after  so  long  a  search.  "Search!" 


256  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

said  he ;  "  it  is  some  such  search  as  the  devil  may 
be  supposed  to  make  after  holy  water.  The  fact  is, 
I  have  had  constant  visions  of  the  Alabama  by  night 
and  by  day ;  she  has  been  chasing  me  in  my  sleep, 
and  riding  me  like  a  nightmare,  and  now  that  it  is 
all  over,  I  feel  quite  relieved."  Such  a  superior 
soul  may  have  felt  keen  pangs  at  seeing  the  torch 
applied  to  his  ship,  but  it  is  a  safe  deduction  that 
no  weakness  shone  in  his  face.  Under  his  fearless 
lead,  it  was  possibly  an  agreeable  trip  back  to 
Singapore  in  the  boats  which  Semmes  permitted  to 
be  loaded  with  provisions  and  other  necessaries  be 
fore  the  flames  devoured  both  vessels. 

Semmes  passed  out  into  the  Indian  Ocean,  thence 
on  across  it,  doubled  the  island  of  Ceylon,  and  sailed 
up  the  Malabar  coast,  taking  the  Emma  Jane  about 
the  middle  of  January,  1864,  the  only  haul  made  on 
that  long  sail  from  the  Straits  of  Malacca  to  Cape 
Town.  The  Emma  Jane  had  no  cargo,  and  there 
were  no  complications  as  to  neutral  property.  She 
was  burned  and  her  crew  landed  on  Indian 
ground. 

Enveloped  and  driven  by  the  northeast  "  trades," 
the  Alabama  stretched  across  the  Arabian  Sea  for 
the  Comoro  Islands.  It  was  a  blessed  voyage  nearly 
all  the  way, — fair  wind,  delightful  weather.  "For 


IN  EASTEBN  WATERS  257 

twelve  successive  days  we  did  not  have  occasion  to 
lower  a  studdingsail,  day  or  night.  We  had  a 
constant  series  of  clear  skies  and  gentle  breezes. 
The  nights  were  serene  and  transparent,  and  the 
sunsets  were  magnificent  beyond  description.  The 
trade  wind  is  par  excellence  the  wind  of  beautiful 
sunsets.  Bright,  gauzy  clouds  float  along  lazily  be 
fore  it,  and  sometimes  the  most  charming  cumuli 
are  piled  up  on  the  western  horizon  while  the  sun  is 
going  down.  Stately  cathedrals,  with  their  domes 
and  spires  complete,  may  be  traced  by  the  eye  of 
fancy,  and  the  most  gorgeous  of  golden,  violet, 
orange,  purple,  green  and  other  hues,  light  up  now 
a  colonnade,  now  a  dome,  and  now  a  spire  of  the 
aerial  edifice.  And  then  came  on  the  twilight,  with 
its  gray  and  purple  blended,  and  with  the  twilight 
the  sound  of  merriment  on  board  the  Alabama.'11 
Thus  tenderly  and  eloquently  does  this  imperious 
commander  paint  the  glories  of  the  heavens  and  the 
rapturous  influence  it  exerted  on  the  spirits  of  men 
seeking  to  harm  their  enemies  wherever  they  might 
find  them. 

He  anchored  at  Johanna,  the  chief  of  the  Comoro 
group.  He  remained  there  for  about  a  week,  being 
kindly  received  by  the  dark-skinned  Mohammedan 
peoples.  It  was  a  good  chance  to  get  fresh  meat 


258  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

and  provisions,  but  was  a  dull  episode  for  the  sail 
ors.  There  were  no  grog,  no  dancing,  no  merry 
partners.  Jack  tried  going  ashore  once,  but  he  was 
glad  to  get  back,  and  happy  that  the  Alabama 
went  southward  toward  the  theater  of  civilized 
amusements. 

Though  wayward  in  mood,  turbulent  in  anger, 
and  riotous  in  liquor,  the  sailor  often  has  the  noblest 
impulse  in  the  heart  of  man, — love  for  his  brother,  to 
the  risking  of  his  own  life  for  him,  the  sacrifice  of 
it  if  need  be.  A  precious  instance  was  afforded  on 
the  Alabama  after  she  had  got  far  down  toward  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope.  One  of  the  officers  has  left  a 
fine  appreciation  of  the  deed,  as  well  as  Semmes' 
hearty  recognition  of  it. 

"  The  wind  is  blowing  a  good  topgallant  breeze, 
with  a  clear  sky  and  rather  a  frisky  sea.  One  of 
the  crew,  who  had  been  on  the  sick  list  for  a  long 
time,  now  convalescent,  was  ordered  by  the  surgeon 
to  be  carried  on  deck  for  sun  and  fresh  air.  While 
lying  on  the  topgallant  forecastle,  by  some  means 
not  positively  known,  the  man  went  overboard  to 
leeward.  At  once  the  cry  was  given,  t  Man  over 
board  !  >  .  .  .  The  vessel  was  at  a  standstill  in  a 
twinkling,  with  the  struggling  invalid  some  distance 
astern,  battling  with  feeble  strength  for  life.  Mars 
took  in  the  situation  instantly.  Seizing  a  grating, 
he  rushed  to  the  lee  gangway,  and  throwing  it  over 
board  ahead  of  him  mounted  the  rail.  Meanwhile 


IN  EASTERN  WATEES  259 

the  first  lieutenant  reached  the  deck,  and  observing 
the  intent  of  Mars,  ordered  him  not  to  go  to  the 
rescue  of  his  comrade  in  such  rough  water  ;  the  boat 
could  pick  the  man  up,  and  one  of  the  crew  was 
enough  to  lose  if  any.  But  his  order  was  not  heeded  ; 
humanity  had  asserted  itself,  and  all  thought  of  the 
gravity  of  the  disobedience  of  orders  was  thrown  by 
Mars  to  the  winds.  Only  replying,  i  Keep  cool,  Mr. 
Kell,  I  will  save  the  poor  fellow,'  he  swam  rapidly 
to  the  now  nearly  exhausted  sailor.  He  reached 
him,  and,  shoving  the  grating  under  him,  awaited 
the  approach  of  the  life- boat,  .  .  .  the  invalid 
being  more  dead  than  alive.  A  wild  yell  broke 
from  the  throats  of  the  gallant  tars.  The  boat 
hoisted  to  the  davits,  the  vessel  was  once  more  on 
her  course. 

"  Seinmes  had  officers  and  crew  mustered  on  the 
quarter-deck,  and,  mounting  the  horse-block,  in  a 
speech  often  minutes,  delivered  a  flattering  tribute 
to  the  superb  gallantry  of  the  man.  He  called  upon 
the  rest  of  the  officers  and  crew  to  emulate  his  ex 
ample  in  all  hours  of  danger  and  trial.  The  speech 
was  an  indorsement  any  man  might  be  proud  to 
receive  from  his  commander.  At  the  conclusion  of 
the  remarks,  ...  as  the  crew  were  strolling 
forward,  Mars,  with  a  hitch  of  the  trousers  so  com 
mon  with  Jack  Tars,  remarked,  *  The  captain  has 
made  a  bloody  fuss  over  nothing. '  During  the  entire 
time  occupied  by  Semmes  in  addressing  officers  and 
crew.  Mars  stood  hat  in  hand,  head  down,  and  blush 
ing  like  a  schoolgirl  at  the  well-earned  compliments 
showered  upon  him."  l 


It  is  the  mark   of  a  great  leader  to  seize  the 
1  Sinclair,  "Two  Years  on  the  Alabama^  pp.  227-9. 


260  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

psychological  moment  for  bestowing  a  tribute  upon 
a  subordinate  for  gallant  conduct.  Such  executive 
wisdom  inspires  his  followers,  and  strengthens  the 
bond  of  loyalty.  It  may  have  nerved  Mars  a  few 
months  later  to  other  acts  of  heroism  and  devotion 
at  the  sinking  of  the  Alabama. 

Without  further  incident  of  note,  the  Alabama 
soon  anchored  in  Cape  Town,  just  six  months  away 
on  her  bold  run  to  the  East  Indies.  Semmes  was  at 
once  involved  in  a  diplomatic  battle,  and,  as  nearly 
always  in  these  contests,  he  vanquished  his  adversa 
ries.  The  Tuscaloosa,  the  tender  which  Semmes  had 
commissioned  on  the  Atlantic  outside  of  all  jurisdic 
tion,  had  obeyed  orders  to  cruise  along  the  Brazilian 
coast  and  then  return  to  South  Africa.  When  she 
made  the  British  port  of  Simon's  Town,  she  had 
been  apprehended  by  the  authorities  under  orders 
from  the  Home  Government  on  the  ground  that  she 
had  not  been  condemned  in  a  prize  court,  and  in 
consequence  should  not  have  been  allowed  in  a 
British  harbor  since  that  nation  along  with  other 
great  powers  had  refused  the  right  of  entry  to  prizes 
of  either  belligerent  in  the  Civil  War  in  the  United 
States.  Semmes,  of  course,  demolished  that  position, 
basing  his  reasoning  on  the  principle  of  international 
law  accepted  by  the  United  States  supreme  court, 


IN  EASTEKN  WATERS  261 

that  a  nation  could  not  inquire  into  the  antecedents 
of  a  ship  of  war,  and  that  her  commission  from  com 
petent  authority  constitutes  her  a  part  of  the  terri 
tory  of  that  sovereign  body,  and  she  can  no  more  be 
seized  than  a  portion  of  the  soil  without  such 
seizure  becoming  an  act  of  war.  He,  Semrnes,  was 
an  officer  of  a  belligerent,  with  full  right  to  com 
mission  a  tender,  a  right  that  the  British  admirals 
often  exercised.  The  Tuscaloosa  under  the  protection 
of  this  document  had  visited  British  ports  and  been 
treated  as  a  belligerent.  It  was  true  that  she  had 
not  been  put  through  a  prize  court,  but  her  com 
mission  as  a  tender  of  the  Alabama  was  a  far 
stronger  title  than  a  court  could  give.  Of  course 
she  had  been  the  property  of  the  citizens  of  the 
other  belligerent,  and  had  been  captured  and  sent 
forth  as  a  cruiser,  but  no  nation  had  the  right  to 
ask  for  anything  further  than  her  commission.  If 
that  was  in  due  form,  she  was  just  as  much  entitled 
to  belligerent  privileges  as  the  Alabama  or  any 
other  ship  of  war. 

The  local  officials  could  not  return  the  boat  to  her 
commander  or  to  Semmes  ;  they  could  only  transmit 
his  protests  and  arguments  to  the  central  power  in 
London.  In  due  time  an  order  came  for  the  res 
toration  of  the  Tuscaloosa  to  her  commander,  but 


262  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

he  had  long  since  departed,  and  as  the  war  was 
drawing  near  its  close,  she  fell  back  into  the  hands 
of  her  original  owners.  But  Semmes  had  gained 
one  legal  triumph ;  he  had  got  one  point  of  law 
settled,  that  "  one  nation  cannot  inquire  into  the 
antecedents  of  the  ships  of  war  of  another  nation  " 


CHAPTER  XIII 

THE  END  OF  THE  "  ALABAMA  " 

THIS  little  international  duel  with  pens  had  no  ef 
fect  upon  the  general  heartiness  of  the  English 
greeting  of  the  Alabama  on  her  second  visit.  Her 
decks  were  thronged  with  civilians  and  officials, 
with  sightseers,  and  with  well-wishers  from  shore. 
But  she  did  not  allow  either  welcome  or  curiosity  to 
hold  her.  As  rapidly  as  possible  she  was  refur 
nished  and  recoaled  and  after  three  days  she  was  off 
again, — this  time  up  the  Atlantic  looking  for  some 
available  repair  yard. 

Before  she  came  to  Cape  Town,  Semmes  had  ad 
mitted  :  "  My  ship  is  weary  too,  as  well  as  her  com 
mander,  and  will  need  a  general  overhauling  by  the 
time  I  can  get  her  into  a  dock."  It  was  his  inten 
tion  "  to  make  the  best  of  my  way  to  England  or 
France,  for  the  purpose  of  docking  and  thoroughly 
overhauling  and  repairing  my  ship."  Yet  he  had 
a  presentiment  that  the  cruises  of  the  Alabama  were 
about  at  an  end.  Confederate  fortunes  on  land  were 
sinking,  and  it  seemed  a  dramatic  fitness  that,  the 


264  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

greatest  Confederate  champion  on  water  should  go 
down  at  the  same  pace.  Her  captain's  spirit  was 
still  unconquerable,  but  his  body,  like  the  Alabama's 
frame,  was  racking  down  :  "  Yigils  by  night  and  by 
day,  the  storm  and  the  drenching  rain,  the  frequent 
and  rapid  change  of  climate,  now  freezing,  now 
melting  or  broiling,  and  the  constant  excitement  of 
the  chase  and  capture  had  laid,  in  the  three  years  of 
war  he  had  been  afloat,  the  load  of  a  dozen  years  on 
his  shoulders.  The  shadows  of  a  sorrowful  future, 
too,  began  to  rest  upon  his  spirit." 

Though  the  Alabama  was  limping  to  her  lair,  she 
added  two  more  numbers  to  her  roster  of  conquest, 
the  EocJcingham  and  the  Tycoon,  both  caught  below 
the  equator,  and  both  burnt.  She  passed  on  by  the 
Azores,  boarding  numerous  neutrals,  but  finding  no 
hostile  flag.  Early  in  the  morning  with  hope  still 
ahead,  in  spite  of  gloomy  news  from  home,  the  Ala- 
lama  made  the  port  of  Cherbourg,  France,  on  June 
11,  1864.  Semmes  aimed  to  go  into  dock,  give  his 
crew  two  months'  leave,  wait  till  all  was  ready,  and 
then  take  to  sea  again.  But  there  were  only  govern 
ment  docks  here,  and  the  Emperor's  permission  had 
to  be  obtained  before  the  privilege  of  using  one  of 
them  could  be  granted.  He  was  at  Biarritz,  and 
would  not  be  back  in  Paris  for  several  days.  In 


THE  END  OF  THE  "  ALABAMA"      265 

the  meantime,  the  Kearsarge,  off  Flushing,  hearing 
of  the  Alabama's  presence  down  the  channel,  came 
on  the  14th,  steamed  into  the  harbor,  and  then  out 
beyond  the  breakwater  and  there  stationed  herself. 

Semmes  saw  his  chance  for  a  trial  of  strength  with 
his  foe.  He  had  been  fully  determined  over  in  the 
East  Indies  to  engage  the  Wyoming  if  he  had  come 
across  her,  and  now  he  sent  for  Kell  and  announced 
that  he  was  going  to  fight  the  Kearsarge.  He  had 
had  target  practice  at  the  Eocldngham,  and  while  the 
gunnery  was  good,  the  shells  in  several  instances 
had  not  exploded,  and  it  was  clear  that  the  quality 
of  the  powder  had  deteriorated.  Kell  knew  all  this, 
and  gently  intimated  that  it  was  a  handicap  ;  but  he 
saw  that  Semmes  was  firm  in  his  decision,  and  he 
discussed  what  it  was  best  to  do  in  preparation. 
Kell  himself  was  always  ready  for  a  set-to,  and  had 
long  wanted  one.  Of  course  the  other  officers  were 
just  as  willing  as  soon  as  they  learned  of  the  chance 
of  it. 

The  British  tars,  composing  most  of  the  crew, 
were  eager  for  the  fray.  From  tradition  and  from 
ancestry,  the  fighting  instinct  in  them  was  strong, 
and  they  were  keen  for  any  danger.  Besides  they 
were  within  sound  of  Old  England,  the  home  of  so 
many  of  them,  and  their  ardor  was  kindled,  and 


266  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

their  pulses  quickened  by  a  song,  the  last  song,  of 
the  ship's  poet  : 

"  We're  homeward,  we're  homeward  bound, 
And  soon  shall  stand  on  English  ground. 
But  ere  that  English  land  we  see, 
We  first  must  fight  the  Kearsargee."  l 

On  the  15th,  the  day  after  the  Kearsarge  got  to 
Cherbourg,  her  captain,  John  A.  Winslow,  received 
word  that  Semmes  wanted  to  fight  him,  communica 
tion  having  been  made  through  the  respective  con 
sular  representatives.  Semmes  had  notified  his 
superior  in  Paris  of  his  purpose,  and  had  been 
directed  to  use  his  discretion.  A  presentiment  of 
battle  was  felt  among  the  crew,  and  there  were  con 
jectures  and  rumors,  gossip  and  idle  predictions  on 
land  among  the  French  townspeople,  but  Semmes 
was  not  the  man  to  keep  a  still  tongue  in  his  head 
for  three  years  as  to  his  plans,  and  then  at  the 
supreme  crisis  to  turn  it  loose  to  wag  at  random. 
It  was  not  known  generally,  in  fact  it  was  positively 
known  to  only  a  few,  though  of  course  all  the  crew 
and  other  observers  could  infer  for  one  or  two  days 
preceding  the  engagement  what  was  ahead. 

The  train -load  from  Paris  did  not  come  down  to 

1  "  Cruise  of  the  Alabama,"  p.  135. 


THE  END  OF  THE  " ALABAMA"      267 

witness  the  battle.  It  was  a  regular  Sunday  excur 
sion  made  weekly  through  the  warm  season,  and 
that  was  the  first  of  the  series  that  summer.1  In  fact 
Bullock,  who  was  in  a  position  to  speak  authorita 
tively,  says  that  outside  of  the  special  officials  very 
few  had  notice  of  the  coming  contest.  Of  course 
when  the  Alabama  began  to  move  out,  all  who  could 
rushed  to  the  highest  places  to  view  the  struggle. 
The  "  congregation  was  dismissed  and  peasants, 
soldiers,  nuns,  and  cure  passed  out  of  the  church  to 
watch  the  fight  from  the  cliffs."  Others  climbed 
towers,  stood  on  roofs,  and  looked  out  of  windows. 

Outside,  a  few  miles  away  from  shore,  quietly  lay 
the  Kearsarge,  with  the  captain  going  through  the 
usual  routine  of  Sunday  morning.  She  had  been 
idly  moving  to  and  fro  for  several  days  waiting  for 
her  challenger  to  come  out.  Although  made  on 
opposite  sides  of  the  Atlantic,  the  two  ships  were 
almost  "  evenly  matched  in  size,  armament,  and 
crew. "  The  Alabama  was  220  feet  long,  the  Kear- 
sarge  214  ;  the  Alabama's  beam  was  thirty-two  feet, 
the  Kearsarge's  thirty-four  ;  the  Alabama's  depth 
was  seventeen  feet,  the  Kearsarge's  sixteen ;  the 
Alabama's  tonnage  was  1,150,  the  Kearsarge's  1,031  j 
the  Alabama's  armament  was  one  8-inch  Blakely, 
1  Prentice  in  Harper's  Monthly,  Nov.,  1910,  Vol.  121,  p.  873. 


268  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

one  8-inch  shell  gun,  and  six  32-pounders,  all 
British, — the  Kearsarge's  was  two  11-inch  guns, 
one  30-pounder,  and  four  32-pounders,  all  Ameri 
can  ;  the  Alabama  had  a  total  force  of  149,  the 
majority  being  British,  fifty-nine  being  of  the 
original  eighty-five  that  enlisted  at  Terceira  when 
the  Alabama  was  commissioned  j  the  Kearsarge  force 
was  163,  all  but  eleven  being  native  Americans.1 
While  the  Alabama  had  eight  guns  to  the  Kear- 
sarge's  seven,  the  total  weight  of  metal  from  the 
Kearsarge  was  about  twenty  per  cent,  more  than 
that  from  the  Alabama.  The  Alabama  was  about 
two  years  old,  the  Kearsarge  six  months  older. 
The  Kearsarge  had  been  in  dock  for  repairs  less 
than  three  months  before,  the  Alabama  had  never 
been  in  dock  since  she  was  launched.  But  taking 
it  all  in  all,  aside  from  the  Kearsarge' 's  recent  dock 
ing,  "it  is  hardly  probable  that  two  ships  more 
equally  matched  will  ever  fight  in  single  combat."  a 
There  is  also  historic  significance  in  the  fact  that  it 
was  the  first  open  sea  fight  of  importance  between 
two  steam  vessels  substantially  equal,  provided  with 
modern  ordnance. 
There  was  also  a  parallelism  in  the  careers  of  the 

1  Bennett,  "Steam  Navy  of  U.  S.,"  p.  431. 
'Ellicott's  "Winslow,"  p.  191. 


THE  END  OF  THE  "  ALABAMA"      269 

two  captains.  They  were  born  at  nearly  the  same 
time,  Senimes  being  two  years  the  senior.  Both 
were  Southerners,  Semmes  from  Maryland,  Winslow 
from  North  Carolina.  Both  had  been  midshipmen 
in  the  Old  Navy.  Both  had  served  gallantly  in  the 
Mexican  War,  and,  singular  to  relate,  each  had  lost 
a  vessel  in  a  storm  off  Yera  Crnz.  They  had  after 
ward  been  shipmates,  messmates,  and  roommates. 
Winslow  had  been  on  the  Kearsarge  two  months 
over  one  year,  while  Semmes  lacked  two  mouths  of 
completing  two  years  on  the  Alabama.  They  had 
been  playing  the  game  of  hide-and-seek  in  the 
Atlantic  since  Winslow  had  been  assigned  to  the 
Kearsarge.  Of  course  both  men  were  of  the  highest 
character  and  courage. 

Exactly  a  week  before  Winslow  had  been  coming 
down  the  Scheldt,  the  inhabitants  being  crowded  on 
the  banks  to  take  a  look  at  the  boat.  The  crew 
were  all  mustered  and  Wiuslow  uttered  a  few  plain, 
manly  words  to  them  :  "  Men,  I  congratulate  you 
in  saying  that  the  Alabama  has  arrived  at  Cher 
bourg,  and  the  Kearsarge,  having  a  good  name  in 
France  and  England,  is  to  have  her  cruising  ground 
off  that  port,"  Upon  this,  "a  patriotic  young 
Irishman  stepped  forward  and  proposed  three 
cheers  for  the  success  of  the  Kearsarge,  and  was 


270  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

responded  to  by  both  crew  and  officers  ;  and  then 
three  cheers  for  Captain  Wiuslow,  and  they  were 
given  with  a  will.  Captain  Wiuslow  said  he  hoped 
that  every  man  would  be  on  the  lookout,  and  ready 
at  a  moment's  notice,  as  we  were  leaving  the  Bel 
gium  and  Holland  coast,  perhaps  never  to  look  on 
them  again."  l 

Now  a  more  mercurial  folk,  farther  south  on  the 
Atlantic  shore,  were  massed  on  the  prominences  to 
see  these  two  enemies  come  together  in  deadly  en 
counter.  As  they  neared  one  another  on  that  bright 
Sabbath  morn  in  June,  some  of  those  aboard  may 
have  thought  of  the  historic  waters  they  were  to 
battle  in,  that  in  that  stretch  between  Continental 
Europe  and  England  had  been  enacted  stirring 
scenes  ; — that  Caesar  with  his  mighty  Eoman  legions 
had  crossed  that  arm  of  the  ocean,  that  along  the 
shores  the  Northmen  had  ravaged,  that  in  that 
channel  the  Spanish  Armada  had  been  dispersed. 

Perhaps  the  martial  ardor  and  the  fighting  blood 
of  the  French  had  something  to  do  with  Semmes' 
decision  here  and  now  to  cast  his  die  on  the  issue. 
In  military  circles  it  was  considered  a  challenge  for 
the  Kearsarge  to  steam  into  the  harbor  in  proximity 

1  Diary  kept  on  Kearsarge,  "N.  E.  Hist.  Gen.  Reg.."  Vol. 
35,  p.  341. 


THE  END  OF  THE  " ALABAMA"      271 

to  the  Alabama,  and  then  pass  out  again.  As  no 
word  had  come  from  the  Emperor,  Semmes  could 
not  go  into  dock,  and  he  did  not  care  to  remain 
there  bottled  up.  The  local  papers  may  have 
spurred  him  on  by  their  sentiments,  as  they  de 
clared  that  he  and  his  men  must  be  tired  of  a  life 
of  attacking  only  defenseless  craft.  They  thought 
it  would  be  glorious  for  him  to  grapple  with  the  foe 
even  if  he  should  be  defeated.  The  Confederate 
representative  in  Paris  declared  that  Semmes,  when 
delayed  in  his  aim  to  dock,  was  placed  "  in  a  situa 
tion  which  prevented  him  from  declining  without 
dishonor  a  combat  in  which  his  vessel  was  lost." 
Public  opinion,  in  a  word,  seemed  to  look  on  the 
engagement  as  a  matter  of  honor  on  the  part  of  the 
Alabama's  captain  and  crew.  Whatever  his  mo 
tives,  it  was  a  deed  of  daring  to  go  boldly  out  in 
his  limping  ship  against  a  watchful  enemy  in  first 
class  trim. 

He  was  attended  by  a  French  war-ship  to  guard 
against  any  violation  of  neutrality.  Semmes  says  : 

"  Everything  being  in  readiness,  between  nine 
and  ten  o'clock,  we  got  under  way  and  proceeded  to 
sea,  through  the  western  entrance  of  the  harbor  ; 
the  Couronne  following  us.  As  we  emerged  from 
behind  the  mole,  we  discovered  the  Kearsarge  at  a 
distance  of  between  six  and  seven  miles  from  the 


272  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

laud.  She  had  been  apprised  of  our  intention  of 
coming  out  that  morning  and  was  awaiting  us.  We 
were  three-quarters  of  an  hour  in  running  out  to  the 
Kearsarge,  during  which  time  we  had  gotten  our 
people  to  quarters,  cast  loose  the  battery,  and  made 
all  necessary  preparations  for  battle.  The  crew  had 
been  particularly  neat  in  their  dress  on  that  morn 
ing,  and  the  officers  were  all  in  the  uniforms  ap 
propriate  to  their  rank.  As  we  were  approaching  the 
enemy's  ship,  I  caused  the  crew  to  be  sent  aft,  within 
convenient  reach  of  my  voice,  and  mounting  a  gun 
carriage  delivered  them  the  following  brief  address. 
I  had  not  spoken  to  them  in  this  formal  way  since  I 
had  addressed  them  on  the  memorable  occasion  of 
commissioning  my  ship  : 

"'Officers  and  Seamen  of  the  Alabama:  You 
have  at  length  another  opportunity  of  meeting  the 
enemy — the  first  that  has  been  presented  to  you  since 
you  sank  the  Hatteras.  In  the  meantime  you  have 
been  all  over  the  world,  and  it  is  not  too  much  to 
say  that  you  have  destroyed  and  driven  for  protec 
tion  under  neutral  flags  one-half  of  the  enemy's 
commerce,  which  at  the  beginning  of  the  war  cov 
ered  every  sea.  This  is  an  achievement  of  which 
you  may  well  be  proud  ;  and  a  grateful  country  will 
not  be  unmindful  of  it.  The  name  of  your  ship  has 
become  a  household  word  wherever  civilization  ex 
tends.  Shall  that  name  be  tarnished  by  defeat? 
The  thing  is  impossible.  Eemember  that  you  are 
in  the  English  Channel,  the  theater  of  so  much  of 
the  naval  glory  of  our  race,  and  that  the  eyes  of  all 
Europe  are  at  this  moment  upon  you.  The  flag 
that  floats  over  you  is  that  of  a  young  Eepublic, 
who  bids  defiance  to  her  enemies  whenever  and 
wherever  found.  Show  the  world  that  you  know 
how  to  uphold  it.  Go  to  your  quarters.'  " 


THE  END  OF  THE  " ALABAMA"      273 

He  adds :  "  The  utmost  silence  prevailed  during 
the  delivery  of  this  address,  broken  only  once  in  an 
enthusiastic  outburst  of  *  Never  !  Never  ! '"  when 
he  asked  his  sailors  "  if  they  would  permit  the  name 
of  their  ship  to  be  tarnished  by  defeat." 

The  Kearsarge  had  been  keenly  watching  for  five 
days  for  this  crisis,  with  every  soul  on  board  keyed 
up  to  the  highest  pitch.  On  this  morning,  while 
the  captain  was  conducting  religious  services,  the 
man  aloft  sang  out,  "A  steamer  is  coming  and  I  be 
lieve  it  to  be  the  Alabama."  It  is  said  that  "the 
drum  immediately  beat  to  quarters  and  in  two 
minutes  every  man  was  at  his  station  ready  for 
action. " 1 

Winslow  had  been  urged  by  the  United  States 
Minister  in  Paris  to  be  careful  not  to  come  within 
the  marine  league  of  shore,  and  if  he  felt  safe  it 
would  be  better  to  get  off  six  or  seven  miles  so  as  to 
avoid  all  chance  of  diplomatic  protests.  Bearing  all 
this  caution  in  mind,  he  steamed  out  farther  to  sea. 
When  he  was  certain  of  his  distance  he  came  back 
and  one  of  the  most  memorable  conflicts  of  naval 
warfare  opened. 

Semmes  had  counted  the  sun  flashing  on  the  waters 
as  a  good  sign  for  the  Alabama,  and  had  unbent  so 
1  Diary  in  "  N.  E.  Hist.  Gen.  Reg.,"  Vol.  35,  p.  343. 


274  RAPHAEL  SEMMES 

far  as  to  do  something  very  unusual  with  him. 
After  saying,  "  If  the  bright,  beautiful  day  is  shin 
ing  for  our  benefit,  we  should  be  happy  at  the 
omen,"  he  asked  one  of  his  lieutenants,  "How  do 
you  think  it  will  turn  out  to-day,  Mr.  Sinclair?77 
This  surprised  the  officer  very  much  as  "  he  rarely 
addressed  any  of  us  off  duty,  and  never  asked  advice 
or  opinion  of  his  subordinates  on  weighty  matters  ; 
at  least  not  to  my  knowledge.7'  He  got  only  the 
cautious  reply  of  a  subordinate  :  "I  cannot  answer 
the  question,  sir,  but  can  assure  you  the  crew  will 
do  their  full  duty,  and  follow  you  to  the  death.'7 
Semmes  knew  that  this  was  true,  and  he  resumed 
his  usual  pacing  of  the  quarter-deck,  and  so  con 
tinued  as  the  ship  bore  the  brave  crew  down  toward 
the  Kearsarge,  for  so  many  a  scene  of  death. 

With  glass  in  hand  Semmes  stood  on  one  of  the 
horse-blocks  in  an  exposed  but  advantageous  posi 
tion  for  directing  the  work  of  his  force  and  for  ob 
serving  the  Kearsarge.  When  the  latter  was  some 
seven  miles  from  land,  she  wheeled  and  came  for 
the  Alabama  end-on,  intending  if  it  seemed  feasible 
to  ram  her  foe ;  but  the  Alabama  sheered  to  one 
side,  and,  when  the  two  were  about  a  mile  apart, 
Semmes  opened  fire.  The  first  broadside  did  no 
damage,  as  most  of  the  shot  went  wild,  only  one 


THE  END  OP  THE  "  ALABAMA  »      275 

striking  the  Kearsarge 's  rigging.  Two  more  broad 
sides  followed  so  rapidly  that  Winslow  gave  up  all 
thought  of  boarding,  and  began  action  himself,  now 
that  he  was  in  sufficient  nearness  for  his  guns  to 
take  effect,  as  the  Alabama  had  the  longer  range. 
The  fight  speedily  became  very  warm,  and,  in  order 
not  to  pass  each  other,  each  ship  sheered  so  that 
they  fought  in  circles  or  loops,  some  seven  in  all, 
bearing  toward  the  shore  all  the  while.  Early  in 
the  action,  one  man  was  killed  and  another  wounded 
on  the  Alabama,  and  then  for  a  time  neither  seemed 
able  to  get  the  range  of  the  other  and  no  damage  of 
any  moment  was  done.  In  fact  in  the  first  half  of 
the  contest  the  advantage  seemed  to  be  with  Semmes. 
He  sent  a  100-pound  shell  crashing  into  the  Kear 
sarge  amidship,  and  his  crew,  believing  that  it 
had  penetrated  her  boilers,  cheered  loudly,  but 
it  had  passed  through  the  engine-room  skylight. 
Eight  after  this,  another  of  these  shells  struck  under 
her  counter,  glanced  and  lodged  in  her  stern-post, 
but  unfortunately  for  Semmes  did  not  explode.  If 
it  had  done  so,  he  was  sure  that  it  would  have  per 
manently  disabled  her,  but  some  expert  opinion  on 
the  other  side  is  just  as  positive  that  no  substantial 
harm  would  have  been  suffered,  although  six  weeks 
later  in  an  official  despatch  Winslow  stated  that  it 


276  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

bound  i t  the  rudder  so  hard  as  to  require  four  men 
at  the  helm,"  and  Browne,  the  Kearsarge  surgeon, 
twenty  years  after  admits  that  "  luckily  the  shell 
did  not  explode,  otherwise  the  result  would  have 
been  serious,  if  not  fatal,"  Almost  at  the  same 
time  another  shell  exploded  on  the  quarter-deck 
wounding  three  men,  one  of  whom,  afterward  died. 
Another  exploded  in  the  smoke-stack,  tearing  an 
enormous  hole. 

Semines  had  been  closely  watching  the  effect  of 
his  guns,  and  noted  that  many  shells  that  struck  the 
Kearsarge  fell  back  into  the  water.  He  called  Kell's 
attention  to  this  and  ordered  the  use  of  solid  shot, 
but  these  did  not  penetrate  the  Kearsarge  any  better, 
because  of  the  chain  armor  upon  her  sides.  But 
there  are  competent  judges  to  assert  that  the  shots 
struck  at  such  height  above  the  water  line  that  no 
serious  hurt  would  have  been  inflicted,  even  if  they 
had  entered.  Here,  again,  Semmes  believed  the 
victory  would  have  been  his  if  the  Kearsarge  had 
not  been  protected  as  she  was.  By  this  time,  how 
ever,  Winslow's  gunner  had  their  range,  and  the 
distance  was  all  in  favor  of  his  heavy  pieces.  His 
weighty  charges  began  to  pierce  their  way  into  the 
Alabama,  doing  terrible  havoc.  One  hit  her  best 
cannon,  put  it  entirely  out  of  gear,  and  disabled 


THE  END  OF  THE  "  ALABAMA  »      277 

eighteen  men.  He  ordered  his  gunners  to  aim  low  so 
as  to  plough  through  below  the  water  line.  A  lucky 
shot  damaged  the  rudder  so  that  substitutes  had  to 
be  devised  for  steering.  The  ship  was  hulled  repeat 
edly,  and  her  decks  were  like  shambles.  Seinmes, 
haviDg  great  faith  in  the  prowess  of  his  men  in 
a  hand  to  hand  struggle,  wanted  to  run  up  to  the 
Kearsarge  and  board  her,  but  Winslow  easily  kept 
off  as  he  had  the  superior  speed.  Finally  two 
eleven- inch  shells  passed  through  the  Alabama's 
bunkers  at  the  water  line,  the  water  poured  into  the 
heart  of  the  ship,  and  she  began  to  sink.  Semines 
tried  to  head  for  the  shore,  and  set  out  sails  for  that 
purpose.  Winslow  saw  the  move  and  got  inshore 
to  rake  her,  but  she  settled  so  fast  that  there  was  no 
hope  of  reaching  the  marine  league.  Semmes  or 
dered  her  colors  down,  sent  an  officer  to  make  a  sur 
render  of  his  ship  and  men  to  the  foe,  and  set  to  work 
to  get  out  his  wounded  for  despatch  to  the  Kearsarge. 
The  bulk  of  the  boats  on  both  vessels  had  been  des 
troyed,  and  at  the  most  there  were  only  some  four 
or  five  in  all  available.  Many  of  the  wounded 
were  placed  on  these,  when  the  Alabama  could  float 
no  longer.  Lifting  her  bow  straight  up  in  the  air, 
something  after  midday  and  less  than  an  hour  and 
a  half  after  she  fired  her  first  gun,  "the  scourge  of 


278  EAPHAEL  8EMME8 

the  seas"  that  had  been  pursued  by  twenty -five 
war- ships  at  a  cost  of  seven  million  dollars,  sank 
into  the  ocean  over  which  she  had  been  a  matchless 
queen  for  nearly  two  years.  Not  even  a  splir.ter 
from  her  passed  to  her  conquerors  as  a  memento  of 
their  triumph.  Two  of  her  boats  and  the  shell 
which  lodged  in  the  stern-post  of  the  Kearsarge 
were  the  only  souvenirs. 

Just  before  her  final  plunge  into  the  deep,  the 
order  had  been  given,  "All  hands  save  yourselves !" 
The  captain  and  his  first  officer,  the  faithful  and  ef 
ficient  Kell,  threw  off  their  outer  clothing.  For 
the  second  time  in  his  life,  Semmes  sprang  into  the 
sea  from  a  sinking  boat  of  which  he  had  just  been 
in  command.  He  could  not  act  with  any  vigor  in 
the  water  as  his  right  arm  was  almost  useless,  having 
been  struck  by  the  fragment  of  a  shell  during  the 
battle,  although  he  continued  in  full  charge  after 
having  it  bound  up  by  a  quartermaster.  With 
KelPs  aid  he  kept  afloat  until  he  was  picked  up  by  a 
boat  from  the  English  yacht  Deerhound,  which,  after 
viewing  the  contest,  had  come  near  the  Kearsarge 
and  had  been  asked  to  help  save  the  unfortunates. 
While  one  of  her  boats  was  passing  near  a  drowning 
man,  a  sailor  recognized  him  as  Semmes,  who  spoke 
up,  "I  am  the  captain  ;  save  me.  I  cannot  keep  up 


THE  END  OF  THE  "  ALABAMA'7      279 

any  longer."  He  was  quickly  pulled  aboard,  placed 
on  the  bottom  and  covered  with  a  sail  to  conceal 
him  from  the  Kearsarge  searchers.  He  is  reported 
to  have  said,  "For  God's  sake,  don't  put  me  on 
board  the  Kearsarge^  but  put  me  on  your  yacht." 
Kell  was  rescued  at  the  same  time,  and  it  was  he 
who  suggested  the  concealment  of  Semmes  to  pre 
vent  recognition  by  any  of  the  Kearsarge's  men. 
Kell  put  on  one  of  the  Deerhound  hats,  took  an  oar, 
and  answered  a  Kearsarge  inquiry  as  to  whether  or 
not  Semmes  was  saved  by  saying  clearly  and  posi 
tively,  "No,  he  is  drowned."1  In  a  few  minutes 
they  were  both  on  the  Deerhound,  and  that  same 
day  were  landed  at  Southampton.3 

With  the  months  of  Semmes'  training  on  ship,  and 
under  his  guidance  and  inspiration  during  the  fight, 
these  men,  gathered  from  all  parts  of  the  globe, 
uniformly  faced  death  unblenched.  The  surgeon, 


1  London  News,  June  21,  1864  ;  and  Sinclair's  "Two  Years 
on  the  Alabama,71  p.  279. 

'  An  English  colonial  officer  of  standing  and  experience, 
Sir  George  F.  Bowen,  relates,  in  Vol.  I,  p.  332  of  his  <4  Auto 
biography,"  that  on  the  visit  of  the  Kearsarge  to  New  Zealand 
in  1868  he  was  informed  by  her  captain  that  the  Kearsarge  offi 
cers  recognized  Semmes  in  the  water  and  let  the  Deerhound 
boat  save  him,  as  they  were  afraid  if  he  was  captured  by  the 
Federal  forces  he  "might  be  tried,  and  hanged,  for  treason,  in 
the  civil  courts — a  fate  from  which  they  wished  to  save  a  gal 
lant  enemy." 


280  KAPHAEL  SEMMES 

an  Englishman,  who  had  joined  the  Southern  cause 
purely  out  of  a  sense  of  what  he  considered  just  and 
right,  forgot  all  of  self,  remained  until  knee-deep  in 
the  water  that  had  entered  his  sick  bay,  doing  all  he 
could  to  save  the  wounded.  When  told  the  ship 
was  sinking,  and  that  he  had  better  haste,  he  calmly 
answered:  "I  must  wait  for  orders,  you  know." 
Finally  he  did  get  his  charges  off,  but  again  he  may 
have  waited  for  orders  to  go  with  them.  After 
the  boat  had  pushed  off,  he  let  it  be  known 
that  he  could  not  swim,  and  a  float  was  arranged 
for  him,  but  by  its  shifting  he  very  likely  lost  his 
life. 

One  of  the  sailors,  though  mortally  wounded, 
denied  that  he  was  hurt  and  continued  on  duty  until 
he  fell  dead  on  deck.  Another  was  sent  aloft  on 
some  task.  When  descending  he  was  "  completely 
disemboweled,'7  but  in  this  desperate  plight  he 
climbed  down  to  the  spar-deck,  "  and  with  shrieks 
of  agony,  and  his  hands  over  his  head,  beating  the 
air  convulsively,  reached  the  port  gangway,  where  he 
fell  and  expired. ' '  The  lower  part  of  the  arm  of  the 
captain's  coxswain  was  so  shattered  that  it  hung  by 
the  skin.  He  coolly  took  out  his  knife,  cut  it  off, 
tied  up  the  stump  and  went  on  with  his  work  as  well 
as  he  could  with  one  arm. 


THE  END  OF  THE  "ALABAMA"      281 

A  pathetic  instance  of  the  tender  attachment 
existing  between  superior  and  subordinate  is  pre 
served  in  the  case  of  a  generous  whole-souled  Irish - 
man,  of  powerful  frame,  but  an  awkward  landsman, 
nicknamed  Connemara  from  his  native  heath, — the 
butt  of  his  comrades,  whose  pranks  he  so  often  and 
so  hotly  resented  that  he  was  a  burden  of  anxiety  to 
the  executive  officer.  With  death  only  a  little  way 
from  him,  he  was  being  passed  over  to  one  of  the 
Kearsarge  boats,  when  he  desired  to  see  the  first 
lieutenant.  Stretching  out  his  feeble  hand  he  said  : 
"I  have  sent  for  you,  Mr.  Kell,  to  ask  your  for 
giveness  for  all  the  trouble  I've  caused  you  since  my 
enlistment  on  the  ship.  Please  forgive  poor  Conne 
mara  now  he  is  going  to  his  long  home."  Kell 
knelt  down  and  stroking  his  head  assured  him  : 
"My  poor,  dear  boy,  I  have  nothing  to  forgive; 
nothing  against  you,  my  brave  lad  ;  and  I  trust  you 
will  be  in  better  trim  soon."  "No,"  was  the  an 
swer,  "  Connemara  is  going  fast.  Good-bye,  Mr. 
Kell;  God  bless  you,  Mr.  Kell,"  as  he  reverently 
and  loyally  kissed  Kell's  hand. 

But  no  man  on  either  side  exhibited  greater  cool 
ness  or  finer  devotion  to  his  chief  than  another  son 
of  Erin,  Michael  Mars,  the  same  who  had  been 
signally  honored  by  Semmes  before  the  entire  ship's 


282  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

company  for  his  daring  unselfishness  in  the  rescue 
of  a  sick  sailor  who  had  fallen  overboard  in  the  In 
dian  Ocean.  He,  with  a  companion,  caught  up  an 
eleven-inch  shell  that  was  about  to  explode  on  the 
deck  and  threw  it  over  the  rail.  A  few  minutes 
later  all  his  mates  were  struck  in  the  bursting  of  an 
other  shell,  many  being  horribly  mangled,  and  the 
human  flesh  scattered  all  around.  He  himself  was 
thrown  down  but  not  injured,  and  instantly  rising 
and  seizing  a  shovel  he  soon  had  the  ghastly  frag 
ments  overboard  and  the  decks  again  sanded.  When 
it  was  time  to  desert  the  sinking  vessel,  Semmes  en 
trusted  his  valuable  papers  to  Mars,  who,  holding 
them  in  one  hand  above  the  water,  swam  to  a 
Kearsarge  boat,  but  learning  this  sprang  out  and 
was  picked  up  by  a  French  boat.  He  again  jumped 
into  the  water,  and  was  rescued  by  a  Deerhound 
boat.  When  he  at  last  got  to  that  ship,  he  would 
give  his  precious  packet  to  no  one  but  Semmes  him 
self. 

But  whatever  the  fiery  spirit,  the  martial  ardor, 
the  dauntless  control,  and  the  noble  self-sacrifice  of 
these  men,  they  were  matched  by  their  enemies  on 
the  Kearsarge  in  the  same  glorious  qualities.  For 
over  a  year  she  had  been  going  to  and  fro  on  the 
Atlantic,  steaming  hither  and  thither  at  the  beck  of 


THE  END  OF  THE  "  ALABAMA"      283 

consul  or  minister,  or  at  the  call  of  rumor,  hunting 
for  the  elusive,  cunning  Alabama.  With  tireless 
drill  they  had  perfected  their  gunnery,  had  hard 
ened  their  muscles,  had  tempered  their  sinews,  and 
steadied  their  nerves.  For  five  days  had  they  been 
strained  to  the  highest  tension  outside  of  Cherbourg. 
At  last  they  were  at  the  apex  of  fate,  at  the  culmina 
tion  of  dreams.  But  their  discipline  held  them  firm 
at  this  crisis  in  their  days.  They  were  calm,  their 
hands  unshaken,  their  sight  direct.  Deliberately 
they  planted  shot  and  shell  on  the  Alabama.  As 
their  deadly  work  began  to  tell,  their  enthusiasm 
flamed  forth.  "  Cheer  succeeded  cheer,  caps  were 
thrown  in  the  air  or  overboard,  jackets  discarded, 
one  encouraging  the  other,  sanguine  of  victory, 
shouting  as  each  projectile  took  effect :  l  That's  a 
good  one  ! '  <  That  told  !  '  <  Give  her  another  ! ' 
'  Down,  boys,  give  her  another  like  the  last ! '  '  Now 
we  have  her.' " 

Only  one  man  was  hurt  badly  enough  to  make  op 
portunity  for  noble  fortitude  or  forgetfulness  of  self, 
but  he  was  so  simple,  so  sincere  in  his  heroism  as  to 
be  a  beacon  light  for  the  entire  ship's  company. 
His  bearing  was  well  worthy  to  be  embalmed  in  the 
official  despatches:  "Gowin  was  brought  with  a 
smile  upon  his  face,  although  suffering  acutely  from 


284  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

his  injury.  He  said,  '  It  is  all  right  and  I  am  satis 
fied,  for  we  are  whipping  the  Alabama, '  adding,  '  I 
willingly  will  lose  my  leg  or  life  if  it  is  necessary.' 
During  the  progress  of  the  action  he  comforted  his 
suffering  comrades  by  assuring  them,  i  Victory  is 
ours.'  Whenever  the  gun's  crew  cheered  at  the 
successful  effect  of  their  shot,  Go  win  would  wave  his 
hand  over  his  head  and  join  in  the  shout.  In  the 
hospital  he  was  calmly  resigned  to  his  fate,  repeat 
ing  again  and  again  his  willingness  to  die,  since  his 
ship  had  won  a  glorious  victory." 

This  was  the  surgeon's  testimony.  Similar  tribute 
to  his  singleness  of  character  did  the  executive  offi 
cer  render  :  ' '  William  Gowin,  ordinary  seaman, 
was  severely  wounded  by  the  explosion  of  a  shell. 
He  dragged  himself  to  the  forward  hatch,  refusing 
to  allow  the  men  to  leave  his  gun  for  the  purpose  of 
assisting  him.  His  cheerful  willingness  to  sacrifice 
his  life  for  victory's  sake  was  expressed  in  terms 
that  animated  and  encouraged  others. "  *  It  is  no 
wonder  that  his  shipmates  determined  to  erect  a 
monument  to  him  in  Cherbourg,  and  that  the  Ameri 
can  residents  in  Paris  contributed  a  sum  for  a 
memorial  to  him  in  his  native  town  in  Michigan. 

Of  course  a  crew  of  his  type  could  appreciate  the 
1  "  Naval  War  Records/'  Series  I,  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  62,  70. 


THE  END  OF  THE  "  ALABAMA  "      285 

fearlessness  of  their  foes,  and  were  too  brave  to 
exult  in  the  hour  of  the  Alabama's  defeat.  All  were 
silent,  when  the  terrible  rover  of  the  oceans  went 
down,  carrying  many  brave  men  to  death. 

It  is  not  possible  to  state  accurately  the  fate  of 
each  man,  but  virtually  all  are  accounted  for  by  one 
of  the  most  careful  investigations  of  the  catastrophe. 
Of  her  roster  of  147-149,  twenty-six  were  killed 
and  drowned,  seventy  wounded  and  sound  were 
taken  to  the  Kearsarge,  while  forty-two  were 
placed  on  the  Deerhound,  and  nine  on  a  French 
pilot  boat.1 

Such  was  the  sacrifice  of  brave  men  for  a  mistress 
that  was  worthy  of  the  immolation.  She  had  been 
a  thing  of  life  for  only  twenty- two  months,  but  she 
had  swept  in  her  pride  unharmed  over  two  oceans, 
had  entered  numerous  ports,  had  coaled  at  ten,  re 
ceiving  on  board  in  all  about  1,800  tons  of  fuel.  She 
had  taken  two  thousand  prisoners,  had  boarded  386 
vessels,  had  constituted  cartel-ships  of  some  half  a 
dozen,  had  bonded  ten,  had  made  a  tender  of  one, 
had  sold  another,  had  sunk  a  third,  and  had  burnt 
fifty-two.  No  trophies  were  left  of  her  victories,  as 
the  flags  she  had  won  went  down  with  her. 

What  lords  of  lucre  would  the  crew  have  been  if 
^llicott's  "  Winslow,"  p.  207. 


286  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

they  could  have  got  their  prize  money,  as  she  had 
destroyed  at  a  modest  calculation  nearly  five  million 
dollars'  worth  of  property.  Nothing  of  the  wealth 
that  was  hers  came  to  any  of  them  except  from  the 
seventy  odd  chronometers,  which,  being  transferred 
to  a  British  ship  before  the  fight,  eventually  reached 
land  and  were  sold,  the  proceeds  being  shared  out 
by  Semmes  in  due  proportion  to  the  officers. 

The  entire  crew  were  all  paid  in  full  by  the  pay 
master  from  funds  he  had  deposited  on  shore  be 
fore  going  out  that  Sunday  morning.  In  time  the 
legal  heirs  of  those  lost  in  the  battle  also  got  their 


A  third  of  a  century  after,  the  Kearsarge  rounded 
out  her  days  with  a  theatrical  climax.  Her  victory 
marked  the  final  drop  of  the  curtain  on  sails  and 
wooden  walls,  but  popular  sentiment  kept  her  on 
the  register  although  she  was  of  no  service  except 
as  a  patriotic  relic.  Three  decades  later  she  went 
ashore  on  a  reef  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  a  party 
of  wreckers  dismantled  and  fired  her.  Among  them 
was  said  to  be  a  child  of  a  member  of  the  Alabama's 
crew,  named  "  Admiral  Semmes  "  by  reason  of  the 
admiration  the  father  had  for  his  commander. 
"When  everything  worth  saving  was  taken  from 
the  vessel,  the  hulk  was  burned  and  l  Admiral 


THE  END  OF  THE  " ALABAMA"      287 

Seinmes,'  the  son  of  the  seaman,  applied  the  torch," 
thus,  in  a  way,  dramatically  placing  Semmes  beside 
Winslow,  each  now  having  destroyed  the  other's 
boat.1 

1  Mobile  Register,  June  7,  1900. 


CHAPTEK  XIV 

AFTERMATH    OF  THE  BATTLE 

A  BLAZING  meteor  in  life,  the  Alabama  shone 
with  greater  brilliancy  after  death  through  the  re 
flection  of  her  rays.  The  dirges  of  defeat  and  the 
pseans  of  victory  through  the  South  and  the  North 
respectively  were  echoed  in  the  expressions  of  sym 
pathy  and  the  felicitations  on  success  in  the  civil 
ized  world.  The  officers  made  their  reports,  the  ob 
servers  gave  their  opinions,  and  controversies  broke 
forth  that  raged  for  years,  and  that  can  still  faintly 
be  heard.  The  world  gazed  upon  the  lurid  path 
that  Semmes  had  lighted.  His  work  affected  the 
world's  theories  of  naval  warfare.  It  signalized  a 
revolution  in  naval  architecture,  and  a  reconstruc 
tion  of  fleets.  It  marked  the  end  of  sails  and  opened 
vistas  of  steam  for  the  ocean  fighting  of  the  future. 
The  hour  and  a  half  off  Cherbourg  on  that  bright 
Sunday  was  Semmes'  last  battle,  and  also  the  crown 
ing  point  of  his  remarkable  career.  His  official  re 
port  of  that  momentous  event  shows  how  he  felt 
The  utterances  of  his  foes  furnish  correctives.  The 


AFTEEMATH  OP  THE  BATTLE        289 

comments  of  contemporaries,  of  students  and  admir 
ers  are  of  great  interest  and  weight. 

Two  days  after  the  battle,  as  soon  as  his  condition 
would  allow,  he  penned  the  following  to  his  superior 
in  Paris : 

1  l  I  have  the  honor  to  inform  you  that,  in  accord 
ance  with  my  intention  as  previously  announced  to 
you,  I  steamed  out  of  the  harbor  of  Cherbourg  be 
tween  nine  and  ten  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the 
19th  of  June,  for  the  purpose  of  engaging  the  enemy's 
steamer  Kearsarge,  which  had  been  lying  off,  and 
in  the  port,  for  several  days  previously.  After 
clearing  the  harbor,  we  descried  the  enemy,  with 
his  head  offshore,  at  a  distance  of  about  seven 
mijes.  We  were  three-quarters  of  an  hour  in  com 
ing  up  with  him.  I  had  previously  pivoted  my  guns 
to  starboard,  and  made  all  preparations  for  engag 
ing  the  enemy  on  that  side. 

u  When  within  about  a  mile  and  a  quarter  of  the 
enemy,  he  suddenly  wheeled,  and,  bringing  his  head 
inshore,  presented  his  starboard  battery  to  me. 
By  this  time  we  were  distant  about  one  mile  from 
each  other,  when  I  opened  on  him  with  solid  shot, 
to  which  he  replied  in  a  few  minutes,  and  the  action 
became  active  on  both  sides.  The  enemy  now 
pressed  his  ship  under  a  full  head  of  steam,  and  to 
prevent  our  passing  each  other  too  speedily,  and  to 
keep  our  respective  broadsides  bearing,  it  became 
necessary  to  fight  in  a  circle  ;  the  two  ships  steam 
ing  around  a  common  center,  and  preserving  a  dis 
tance  from  each  other  of  from  three-quarters  to  half 
a  mile. 

"  When  we  got  within  good  shell  range,  we 
opened  upon  him  with  shell.  Some  ten  or  fifteen 


290  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

minutes  after  the  commencement  of  the  action,  our 
spanker-gaff  was  shot  away,  and  our  ensign  came 
down  by  the  run.  This  was  immediately  replaced 
by  another  at  the  mizzeumast-head.  The  firing 
now  became  very  hot,  and  the  enemy's  shot  and 
shell  soon  began  to  tell  upon  our  hull,  knocking 
down,  killing,  and  disabling  a  number  of  men,  at 
the  same  time,  in  different  parts  of  the  ship.  Per 
ceiving  that  our  shell,  though  apparently  exploding 
against  the  enemy's  sides,  were  doing  him  but  little 
damage,  I  returned  to  solid-shot  firing,  and  from 
this  time  onward  alternated  with  shot  and  shell. 

"After  the  lapse  of  about  one  hour  and  ten 
minutes,  our  ship  was  ascertained  to  be  in  a  sink 
ing  condition,  the  enemy's  shell  having  exploded 
in  our  side,  and  between  decks,  opening  large 
apertures  through  which  the  water  rushed  with 
great  rapidity.  For  some  few  minutes  I  had  hopes 
of  being  able  to  reach  the  French  coast,  for  which 
purpose  I  gave  the  ship  all  steam,  and  set  such  of 
the  fore-and-aft  sails  as  were  available.  The  ship 
filled  so  rapidly,  however,  that  before  we  had  made 
much  progress,  the  fires  were  extinguished  in  the 
furnaces,  and  we  were  evidently  on  the  point  of 
sinking.  I  now  hauled  down  my  colors,  to  prevent 
the  further  destruction  of  life,  and  despatched  a 
boat  to  inform  the  enemy  of  our  condition.  Al 
though  we  were  now  but  four  hundred  yards  from 
each  other,  the  enemy  fired  upon  me  five  times  after 
my  colors  had  been  struck.  It  is  charitable  to  sup 
pose  that  a  ship  of  war  of  a  Christian  nation  could 
not  have  done  this  intentionally. 

1 1  We  now  directed  all  our  exertions  toward  saving 
the  wounded,  and  such  of  the  boys  of  the- ship  as 
were  unable  to  swim.  These  were  despatched  in  my 
quarter- boats,  the  only  boats  remaining  to  me  ;  the 


AFTEEMATH  OF  THE  BATTLE        291 

waist-boats  having  been  torn  to  pieces.  Some 
twenty  minutes  after  my  furnace-fires  had  been  ex 
tinguished,  and  when  the  ship  was  on  the  point  of 
settling,  every  man,  in  obedience  to  a  previous 
order  which  had  been  given  the  crew,  jumped  over 
board,  and  endeavored  to  save  himself.  There  was 
no  appearance  of  any  boat  coming  to  me  from  the 
enemy,  until  after  my  ship  went  down.  Fortunately, 
however,  the  steam  yacht  Deerhound,  owned  by  a 
gentleman  of  Lancashire,  England — Mr.  John  Lan 
caster — who  was  himself  on  board,  steamed  up  in 
the  midst  of  my  drowning  men  and  rescued  a 
number  of  both  officers  and  men  from  the  water. 
I  was  fortunate  enough  myself  thus  to  escape  to  the 
shelter  of  the  neutral  flag,  together  with  about  forty 
others,  all  told.  About  this  time  the  Kearsarge  sent 
one,  and  then,  tardily,  another  boat. 

u  Accompanying,  you  will  find  lists  of  the  killed 
and  wounded,  and  of  those  who  were  picked  up  by 
the  Deerhound ;  the  remainder,  there  is  reason  to 
hope,  were  picked  up  by  the  enemy,  and  by  a 
couple  of  French  pilot  boats,  which  were  also 
fortunately  near  the  scene  of  action.  At  the  end 
of  the  engagement  it  was  discovered  by  those  of  our 
officers  who  went  alongside  of  the  enemy's  ship 
with  the  wounded,  that  her  mid-ship  section,  on 
both  sides,  was  thoroughly  iron-coated ;  this  hav 
ing  been  done  with  chains,  constructed  for  the  pur 
pose,  placed  perpendicularly,  from  the  rail  to"  the 
water's  edge,  the  whole  covered  over  by  a  thin 
outer  planking,  which  gave  no  indication  of  the 
armor  beneath.  This  planking  had  been  ripped 
off,  in  every  direction,  by  our  shot  and  shell,  the 
chain  broken,  and  indented  in  many  places,  and 
forced  partly  into  the  ship's  side.  She  was  effectu 
ally  guarded,  however,  in  this  section,  from  pene- 


292  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

tration.  The  enemy  was  much  damaged  in  other 
parts,  but  to  what  extent  it  is  now  impossible  to 
say.  It  is  believed  he  is  badly  crippled. 

i '  My  officers  and  men  behaved  steadily  and 
gallantly,  and  though  they  have  lost  their  ship, 
they  have  not  lost  honor.  Where  all  behaved  so 
well,  it  would  be  invidious  to  particularize  ;  but  I 
cannot  deny  myself  the  pleasure  of  saying  that  Mr. 
Kell,  my  first  lieutenant,  deserves  great  credit  for  the 
fine  condition  in  which  the  ship  went  into  action,  with 
regard  to  her  battery,  magazine,  and  shell-rooms, 
and  that  he  rendered  me  great  assistance,  by  his  cool 
ness  and  judgment,  as  the  fight  proceeded.  The 
enemy  was  heavier  than  myself,  both  in  ship,  bat 
tery,  and  crew  ;  but  I  did  not  know  until  the  action 
was  over  that  she  was  also  iron-clad.  Our  total  loss 
in  killed  and  wounded  is  thirty,  to  wit :  nine  killed, 
twenty -one  wounded.'7 


His  opponent,  Winslow,  that  afternoon  at  Cher 
bourg,  wrote  his  formal  account  to  Secretary  Welles, 
as  follows:  "I  have  the  honor  to  inform  the  De 
partment  that  the  day  subsequent  to  the  arrival  of 
the  Kearsarge  off  this  port,  on  the  14th  instant,  I 
received  a  note  from  Captain  Semmes,  begging 
that  the  Kearsarge  would  not  depart,  as  he  in 
tended  to  fight  her,  and  would  not  delay  her  but  a 
day  or  two. 

11  According  to  this  notice  the  Alabama,  left  the 
port  of  Cherbourg  this  morning  at  about  9  :  30 
o'clock. 


AFTEEMATH  OF  THE  BATTLE        293 

"  At  10:20  A.  M.  we  discovered  her  steering 
toward  us.  Fearing  the  question  of  jurisdiction 
might  arise,  we  steamed  to  sea  until  a  distance  of 
six  or  seven  miles  was  attained  from  the  Cherbourg 
breakwater,  when  we  rounded  to  and  commenced 
steaming  for  the  Alabama.  As  we  approached  her 
within  1,200  yards  she  opened  fire,  we  receiving  two 
or  three  broadsides  before  a  shot  was  returned.  The 
action  continued,  the  respective  steamers  making  a 
circle  round  and  round  at  a  distance  of  about  900 
yards  from  each  other.  At  the  expiration  of  an 
hour,  the  Alabama  struck,  going  down  in  about 
twenty  minutes  afterward,  and  carrying  many 
persons  with  her. 

'  i  It  affords  me  great  gratification  to  announce  to 
the  Department  that  every  officer  and  man  did  his 
duty,  exhibiting  a  degree  of  coolness  and  fortitude 
which  gave  promise  at  the  outset  of  certain  victory." 

On  the  next  day  he  drew  up  another  report  in 
which  he  states :  "  Although  we  received  some 
twenty -five  or  thirty  shots,  twelve  or  fifteen  taking 
effect  in  the  hull,  by  the  mercy  of  God  we  have 
been  spared  the  loss  of  any  one  life,  whereas  in  the 
case  of  the  Alabama  the  carnage  I  learn  was  dread 
ful."  He  states  further  that  "the  only  shot  which 
I  fear  will  give  us  any  trouble  is  one  100- pound 


294  KAPHAEL  SEMMES 

rifle,  which  entered  our  stern-post  and  remains  at 
present  unexploded. " 

The  day  following,  while  at  Cherbourg,  he  for 
warded  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  this  report : 

"I  have  the  honor  to  report  that  toward  the 
close  of  the  action  between  the  Alabama  and  this 
vessel  all  available  sail  was  made  on  the  former  for 
the  purpose  of  again  reaching  Cherbourg.  When 
the  object  was  apparent  the  Kearsarge  was  steered 
across  the  bow  of  the  Alabama  for  a  raking  fire,  but 
before  reaching  this  point,  the  Alabama  struck. 
Uncertain  whether  Captain  Semmes  was  not  using 
some  ruse,  the  Kearsarge  was  stopped.  It  was  seen 
shortly  afterward  that  the  Alabama  was  lowering 
her  boats,  and  an  officer  came  alongside  in  one  of 
them  to  say  that  they  had  surrendered  and  were 
fast  sinking,  and  begging  that  boats  would  be  des 
patched  immediately  for  saving  of  life.  The  two 
boats  not  disabled  were  at  once  lowered,  and  it  was 
apparent  that  the  Alabama  was  settling.  This 
officer  was  permitted  to  leave  in  his  boat  to  afford 
assistance. 

"An  English  yacht,  the  Deerhound,  had  ap 
proached  near  the  Kearsarge  at  this  time,  when  I 
hailed  and  begged  the  commander  to  run  down  to  the 
Alabama  as  she  was  fast  sinking,  and  we  had  but 
two  boats,  and  assist  in  picking  up  the  men.  He 
answered  affirmatively  and  steamed  toward  the 
Alabama,  but  the  latter  sank  almost  immediately. 
The  Deerhound,  however,  sent  her  boats  and  was 
actively  engaged,  aided  by  several  others  which  had 
come  from  shore. 

"  These  boats  were  busy  in  bringing  the  wounded 
and  others  to  the  Kearsorge,  whom  we  were  trying 


AFTERMATH  OF  THE  BATTLE        295 

to  make  as  comfortable  as  possible,  when  it  was  re 
ported  to  me  that  the  Deerhound  was  moving  off. 
I  could  not  believe  that  the  commander  of  that  boat 
could  be  guilty  of  so  disgraceful  an  act  as  taking 
our  prisoners  off,  and  therefore  took  no  means  to 
prevent  it,  but  continued  to  keep  our  boats  at  work 
rescuing  the  men  in  the  water.  I  am  sorry  to  say 
that  I  was  mistaken  ;  the  Deerhound  made  off  with 
Captain  Semmes  and  others,  and  also  the  very 
officer  who  had  come  on  board  to  surrender. 

"I  learned  subsequently  that  the  Deerhound  was 
a  consort  of  the  Alabama,  and  that  she  received  on 
board  all  the  valuable  personal  effects  of  Captain 
Sernm.es  the  night  before  the  engagement." 

It  was  perhaps  unavoidable  that  sharp  differences 
of  attitude  should  develop  on  some  points.  Semmes 
was  very  bitter  over  the  fire  of  the  Kearsarge,  as  he 
believed,  after  he  had  hauled  down  his  colors. 
Winslow  in  his  longest  despatch,  that  of  July  30th, 
admits  that  he  fired  upon  the  Alabama  after  her 
flag  was  lowered,  saying  :  "  A  few  more  guns,  well 
directed,  brought  down  her  flag.  I  was  unable  to 
ascertain  whether  they  had  been  hauled  down  or 
shot  away,  but  a  white  flag  having  been  displayed 
over  the  stern,  our  fire  was  reserved.  Two  minutes 
had  not  more  than  elapsed  before  she  again  opened 
on  us  with  the  two  guns  on  the  port  side.  This 
drew  our  fire  again,  and  the  Kearsarge  was  im 
mediately  steamed  ahead,  and  laid  across  her  bows 


296  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

for  rakiDg.  The  white  flag  was  still  flying,  and 
our  fire  was  again  reserved.  Shortly  after  this  her 
boats  were  seen  to  be  lowering  and  an  officer  in  one 
of  them  came  alongside  and  informed  us  that  the 
ship  had  surrendered  and  was  fast  sinking." 
Browne,  the  Kearsarge  surgeon,  testifies  that  Wins- 
low  was  amazed  at  this  renewal  of  firing  and  ex 
claimed  :  ' '  He  is  playing  us  a  trick  ;  give  him 
another  broadside." 

Kell  and  Sinclair,  of  the  Alabama's  officers,  were 
both  of  the  view  that  the  Kearsarge  fired  on  the 
Alabama  after  the  latter  had  surrendered.  But 
Kell  grants  that  he  did  cease  firing  while  the  battery 
was  being  shifted  to  port  and  then  began  again. 
After  a  bit  he  hauled  down  his  colors,  ceased  action 
entirely,  and  for  good,  and  yet  the  Kearsarge  dis 
charged  five  shots  upon  them.  As  noted  above 
Wiuslow  says  the  Alabama  ceased  firing,  "a  white 
flag  having  been  displayed  over  the  stern,"  and 
then  "  again  opened  on  us  with  the  two  guns  on  the 
port  side,"  and  he  adds,  "  this  drew  our  fire  again." 

With  the  exception  of  the  white  flag  there  is  per 
fect  uniformity  in  the  two  accounts  up  to  this  point 
as  to  the  main  facts,  since  both  say  the  Alabama 
ceased  firing,  both  say  she  began  again  on  the 
port  side,  and  both  say  the  Kearsarge  fired  on  her 


AFTEEMATH  OF  THE  BATTLE        297 

after  this,  and  both  say  that  the  Alabama  then  ceased 
absolutely. 

It  is  from  this  point  onward  that  the  two  accounts 
diverge.  The  three  Alabama  officers  assert  that  after 
this  unmistakable  submission  the  Kearsarge  fired 
upon  them,  while  Winslow  denies  that  he  did  so. 
If  the  three  Alabama  witnesses  were  independent, 
the  burden  of  presumption  would  force  acceptance 
of  their  version,  but  Kell  and  Sinclair  writing  after 
Semines  and  following  him  so  closely  throughout, 
it  is  only  a  reasonable  judgment  that  they  uncon 
sciously  adopted  his  notion  of  this  minor  detail. 
That  leaves  the  two  captains  balanced  against  each 
other.  Both  being  intelligent,  experienced,  and 
honorable,  they  are  equally  entitled  to  credence  and 
the  question  remains  open,  every  one  deciding  it 
according  to  which  captain  he  puts  the  more  faith 
in.  Earlier  in  the  action,  when  the  Alabama,  after 
cessation,  started  again  with  the  port  guns,  Wiuslow 
was  apprehensive  of  a  ruse,  and  possibly  under  the 
same  fear  he  might  have  fired  after  the  undoubted 
surrender.  Or,  with  the  lapse  of  two  days,  Semmes' 
memory  may  have  played  him  a  trick  and  confused 
two  events,  shifting  the  Kearsarge's  firing  after  the 
Alabama's  first  cessation  until  it  seemed  to  be  after 
the  Alabama's  second  cessation.  Such  psycholog- 


298  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

ical  movements  are  not  unknown  even  during  quiet, 
normal  life ;  they  are  much  more  possible  during 
great  stress  of  mind  and  body. 

After  all,  probably  the  best  conclusion  as  to  this 
painful  matter  is  the  charitable  one  reached  by 
Sinclair :  "  The  Kearsarge  evidently  failed  to  dis 
cover  at  once  our  surrender,  for  she  continued  her 
fire  after  our  colors  were  struck  ;  perhaps  from  the 
difficulty  of  noting  the  absence  of  a  flag  with  so 
much  white  in  it,  in  the  powder  smoke.  But,  be 
the  reason  what  it  may,  a  naval  officer,  a  gentleman 
by  birth  and  education,  would  certainly  not  be 
guilty  of  firing  on  a  surrendered  foe  ;  hence  we  may 
dismiss  the  matter  as  an  undoubted  accident."1 
In  full  blend  with  this  noble  spirit  is  the  character 
ization  of  Wiuslow  at  his  death  by  Semmes  himself: 
"He  was  the  Christian  gentleman. " 

Semmes'  criticism  of  the  Kearsarge  for  the  chain 
armor  along  her  sides  was  without  any  justification. 
Even  if  it  had  not  been  generally  known,  it  would 
have  been  one  of  those  deceptions  wholly  fair  in  war, 
just  as  allowable  as  tricks  he  had  made  use  of  in 
running  up  foreign  colors  to  mislead  a  merchant 
boat.  Besides,  the  device  had  been  placed  in  posi 
tion  the  year  before,  in  the  Azores,  having  been 
1  "  Two  Years  on  the  Alabama,"  p.  259. 


AFTEEMATH  OF  THE  BATTLE        299 

adopted  after  similar  precautions  had  been  taken 
in  the  early  part  of  the  war  along  the  coast  or  on 
the  rivers  in  the  United  States.  There  had  been  no 
secret  about  the  matter.  The  Kearsarge  had  been 
in  dock  in  England  several  months  before  the  battle, 
and  the  officials  there  had  full  knowledge  of  her 
condition.  "Within  a  week  after  the  loss  of  the 
Alabama  the  ministry  were  questioned  in  the  House 
of  Commons  whether  it  was  advisable  or  not  to 
learn  about  this  method  of  protection,  and  it  was 
answered  that  the  government  already  had  full  in 
formation  which  was  obtained  when  the  Kearsarge 
was  repaired  in  an  English  port.1 

Furthermore,  Sinclair  asserts  that  a  sympathetic 
French  officer  "manifested  a  fellow  feeling  and 
interest  in  the  lone,  expatriated  exponent  of  the 
Confederacy  by  informing  Semmes  a  day  or  so 
before  the  fight  that  an  officer  detailed  to  visit  the 
Kearsarge  in  the  offing  had  reported  the  fact  of  the 
chain  armor  arranged  on  the  ship,  and  strongly  ad 
vised  Semmes  not  to  engage  her,  for  that  nothing 
but  unlooked-for  good  luck  could  throw  the  scales 
our  way." 

Semmes'  contention  that  he  would  have  been  the 
conqueror  if  it  had  not  been  for  this  armor  is 
1  London  Times,  June  25,  1864. 


300  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

strongly  backed  up  by  the  executive  officer  of  the 
Kearsarge,  who  wrote  to  a  friend  four  days  after  the 
combat  "  the  chain  was  struck  twice  by  the  heaviest 
projectiles  and  unquestionably  saved  us  from  dam 
age."1 

The  whole  device  consisted  of  spare  cables  hung 
in  bights  over  the  sides  of  the  Kearsarge  to  protect 
the  machinery.  It  was  all  painted  black.  There 
were  a  hundred  and  twenty  fathoms  of  sheet  chains 
of  one  and  seven-tenths  inch  iron,  "covering  a 
space  amidships  of  forty-nine  and  one-half  feet  in 
length  by  six  feet  two  inches  in  depth. ' '  This  use 
of  chains  had  attracted  notice  in  the  European  ports 
visited,  and  there  was  every  opportunity  for  Semnies 
to  know  about  it.  There  is  a  counter  assertion  that 
this  advantage  was  offset  by  the  full  coal  bunkers 
of  the  Alabama.  Those  of  the  Kearsarge  were  defi 
cient  some  seventy  tons. 

But  the  collateral  incident  that  caused  the  most 
pleasure  among  Southern  sympathizers,  the  most 
" thoughtless  wailing"  among  the  Federals,  the 
greatest  acerbity  in  the  English  press,  and  the  wid 
est  and  longest  discussion  in  naval  and  international 
circles,  was  the  escape  of  Semmes  and  a  part  of  his 
force  in  the  Deerhound.  Yet  shorn  of  triumph, 
'Ellicott's  "  Winslow,"  p.  245. 


AFTEKMATH  OF  THE  BATTLE        301 

stripped  of  prejudice,  and  divested  of  disappoint 
ment,  it  becomes  a  very  simple  and  natural  act,  one 
that  would  have  aroused  no  feeling  beyond  interest 
at  the  dramatic  finish  of  a  wonderful  cruise,  if  it  had 
not  been  dragged  into  the  whirlpool  of  the  bitterness 
of  a  Civil  War.  The  battle  was  over,  the  Alabama 
was  forever  in  her  watery  grave,  but  here  were  a 
number  of  human  beings  struggling  and  drowning 
in  the  waves.  At  this  instant  the  English  yacht 
which  had  been  hovering  around  viewing  the  con 
test  came  up.  It  was  simple  humanity  for  Wins- 
low,  whose  boats  had  been  mostly  destroyed,  to 
shout,  "  For  God's  sake,  save  all  you  can,77  and  it  was 
the  most  instinctive  prompting  for  the  DeerJiound  to 
get  as  many  aboard  as  she  could.  After  once  set 
ting  foot  on  her,  the  rescued  were  on  English  soil, 
and  of  course  were  free  from  their  conquerors. 

The  owner,  John  Lancaster,  being  "a  gentleman 
of  ease  and  fortune,"  had  come  to  Cherbourg  from 
a  Continental  trip  in  order  to  embark  on  his  steam 
yacht  Deerhound  which  had  been  ordered  to  meet 
him  there  for  a  cruise  of  a  few  weeks  northward. 
Hearing  of  the  anticipated  contest,  he  consulted 
with  his  family  about  going  out  to  view  the  engage 
ment.  The  story  runs  that  it  was  a  tie  vote  among 
his  children,  till  his  little  daughter  voted  "  yes  "  at 


302  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

the  instigation  of  a  brother  who,  boy-like  of  course, 
wanted  to  see  the  fight. 

Semmes  and  Lancaster  were  entire  strangers.  The 
former  says  that  they  had  never  "seen  each  other, 
or  held  the  least  communication  together,  until  I 
was  drawn  out  of  the  water  by  his  boat's  crew,  and 
taken  on  board  his  yacht  after  the  battle. ' '  Lancas 
ter  makes  the  same  emphatic  declaration  from  his 
side,  asserting,  ' l  Neither  I  nor  any  member  of  my 
family  had  any  knowledge  of,  or  communication 
with,  Captain  Semmes,  or  any  of  his  officers,  or  any 
of  his  crew.  Since  the  fight  I  have  inquired  from 
my  captain  whether  he,  or  any  of  my  crew,  had  had 
any  communication  with  the  captain  or  crew  of  the 
Alabama  prior  to  meeting  them  on  the  Deerlwund 
after  the  engagement,  and  his  answer  given  in  the 
most  emphatic  manner  has  been,  '  None  whatever. ' 
As  to  the  deposit  of  chronometers  and  other  valua 
ble  articles,  the  whole  story  is  a  myth." 

Mr.  Lancaster  was  wholly  neutral  and  when  he 
was  thanked  by  some  of  those  he  had  saved  he  re 
plied  :  "  Gentlemen,  you  have  no  need  to  give  me 
any  special  thanks.  I  should  have  done  exactly  the 
same  for  the  other  people  if  they  had  needed  it." 
Of  course  as  "an  English  ship  is  English  territory 
.  .  .  I  am  unable  to  discover  why  I  was  more 


AFTEEMATH  OF  THE  BATTLE        303 

bound  to  surrender  the  people  of  the  Alabama  whom 
I  had  on  board  my  yacht,  than  the  owner  of  a  garden 
on  the  south  coast  of  England  would  have  been  if 
they  had  swum  to  such  a  place  and  landed  there ;  or 
than  the  mayor  of  Southampton  was  when  they  were 
lodged  in  that  city  ;  or  than  the  British  Government 
is,  now  that  they  are  somewhere  in  England." 

Of  a  certainty  he  was  right.  The  principles  of 
international  law  established  through  centuries  of 
usage  marked  the  way  for  him.  It  was  only  the 
passion  of  the  hour  that  threw  officials  off  their 
balance,  inflamed  the  press,  and  heated  the  pens  of 
controversialists.  An  American  author  of  rank  on 
naval  history  has  amusingly  and  convincingly  ap 
plied  the  conditions  to  an  imaginary  case,  placing 
the  United  States  in  the  position  of  England : 
"  Suppose  Ireland  should  secede  from  Great  Britain, 
and  an  Irish  cruiser  should  be  sunk  in  the  presence 
of  a  Yankee  yacht?  Would  the  Yankee  yacht 
owner  deliver  up  the  Irishman's  crew  to  the  trium 
phant  British  war-ship  ?  Certainly,  if  the  Yankee 
yacht  owner  was  a  politician  he  would  not  do  so."  x 

On  another  point  has  there  also  been  a  mass  of 
discussion,  as  to  Semmes7  obligation  to  deliver  him 
self  to  Wiuslow  even  though  he  had  set  foot  on  the 

1  Spears,  "  Hist.  Navy,"  Vol.  IV,  p.  442. 


304  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

deck  of  an  English  vessel.  It  was  argued  that  he 
was  a  prisoner,  and  that  a  sense  of  honor  would 
have  sent  him  back  to  his  captors.  Considering 
that  in  the  Civil  War  on  both  sides,  as  well  as  in  all 
wars  of  history,  men  have  become  heroes  because 
they  dared  even  death  to  escape  from  prison,  this 
view  seems  quixotic  and  ethereal.  Besides  it  is  a 
question  whether  Semmes  was  a  prisoner  at  all.  He 
had  lowered  his  flag,  it  is  true,  but  he  contends  that 
this  was  only  an  offer  to  surrender,  a  confession, — 
"  I  am  beaten  ;  if  you  will  take  possession  of  me,  I 
will  not  resist.7'  But  in  order  that  he  become  a 
prisoner,  he  must  be,  if  only  for  a  moment,  in  the 
possession  of  the  captor,  in  his  actual,  physical 
possession.  If  he  had  swum  to  the  French  shore, 
there  would  have  been  no  altercation  over  his  case. 
If  the  Kearsarge  had  herself  been  so  disabled  that 
she  could  not  have  sent  after  the  drowning  men,  no 
one  would  have  insisted  for  an  instant  that  they 
should  have  made  their  way  to  her  or  even  to  the 
shores  across  the  Atlantic  in  order  to  surrender 
their  persons  to  the  victors. 

In  spite  of  the  plain  dictates  of  the  case,  a  dip 
lomatic  discussion  went  on  between  Washington  and 
London  for  some  six  months,  and  "  a  searching  in 
quiry  was  made  by  the  United  States  officials  in 


AFTERMATH  OF  THE  BATTLE        305 

England  and  France  to  learn  how  far  the  yacht  had 
been  an  accomplice  of  the  Confederate  cruiser,  but 
no  positive  evidence  was  ever  found.  The  corre 
spondence  finally  ceased  with  no  official  concession 
on  either  side."  However,  international  opinion 
seems  to  be  crystallizing  against  the  exercise  of  such 
a  liberty  on  the  part  of  a  neutral.  The  United 
States  Navy  Department  adopted  a  regulation  in 
1900  to  the  effect  that  a  neutral  flag,  rescuing  the 
wounded  or  shipwrecked  of  belligerents,  will  violate 
neutrality  if  it  attempts  to  carry  off  any  it  has  so 
succored.1 

While  the  debate  raged  among  the  participants, 
and  caustic  notes  of  diplomacy  passed  from  capital 
to  capital,  sobs  of  grief  and  the  shouts  of  exultation 
resounded  on  both  sides  of  the  ocean  over  the  tragic 
fate  of  the  Alabama. 

Two  days  after  the  event,  the  London  Times,  the 
greatest  paper  of  the  day  in  the  English  language, 
and  one  of  the  most  commanding  in  existence,  in  a 
leader  devoted  to  the  famous  boat  said  : 


"  On  Sunday  morning,  just  as  all  good  people 
were  coming  down  to  breakfast,  an  awful  Sunday 
morning's  work  was  preparing  within  sight  of  the 
British  Isles,  if  among  these  isles  we  may  include 

'Ellicott's  "Winslow,"  p.  231. 


306  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

the  barren  rock  upon  which  a  million  has  been  spent 
to  make  it  a  sentry  box  to  watch  the  port  of  Cher 
bourg.  From  the  latter  port,  just  about  nine  o' clock, 
there  issued  the  Alabama,  the  ship  that  has  struck 
terror  into  the  hearts  of  the  most  confident  and 
almost  the  strongest  naval  power  of  the  world. 
More  than  a  hundred  times  over  the  very  name  of 
the  Alabama,  thundered  through  a  speaking  trum 
pet,  has  brought  down  the  rival  flag  as  if  by  magic, 
and  compelled  the  luckless  crew  to  submit  to  the 
inglorious  process  of  examination,  surrender, 
spoliation,  and  imprisonment,  and  to  see  their  ship 
plundered  and  sent  to  the  bottom.  In  the  shape  of 
chronometers  and  other  valuables  the  Alabama 
carried  the  spolia  opima  of  a  whole  mercantile  fleet. 
This  time,  however,  it  was  not  to  order  a  merchant 
man  to  lie  to  while  his  papers  were  examined  that 
this  scourge  of  the  Federal  navy  came  out  of  Cher 
bourg.  It  is  not  in  our  power  to  say  why  Captain 
Serumes,  who  has  gained  so  much  glory  and  so  un 
questionable  a  reputation  for  courage  that  he  could 
afford  to  be  prudent,  came  out  with  a  ship  just  re 
turned  from  a  long  voyage  and  much  in  want  of 
repair,  to  encounter  a  foe,  larger,  better  manned, 
better  armed,  provided  with  some  special  contri 
vances  for  protection,  and  quite  as  likely  to  be  as 
well  handled  as  his  own  ship.  .  .  .  The  captain 
of  the  Kearsarge  had  assumed  that  if  they  met  there 
could  be  only  one  possible  result.  Why,  then,  did 
not  Captain  Serurnes  see  that  this  was  an  occasion 
for  the  exercise  of  that  discretion  or  that  ingenuity 
which  the  greatest  generals  have  thought  rather  an 
addition  to  their  fame  I  .  .  .  He  steamed  nine 
miles  out  to  sea,  and  entered  into  mortal  combat 
with  the  enemy.  ,  .  .  At  the  distance  of  a  mile, 
never  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  a  formidable 


AFTEBMATH  OF  THE  BATTLE        307 

ship,  the  terror  of  American  commerce,  well 
handled,  well  armed,  well  manned,  is  sent  to  the 
bottom  in  an  hour.'7 

Across  the  water  Mr.  Welles,  the  Secretary  of 
the  Navy  in  Washington,  in  his  annual  report  the 
following  December,  raved  in  childish  anger  and 
pitiful  prejudice  and  ignorance.  One  wonders  how 
the  man  who  would  indulge  in  such  abuse  and 
vituperation  could  sit  at  the  same  council  table 
with  Lincoln,  who  breathed  in  his  last  annual 
message  the  divine  spirit  of  charity.  That  paper 
went  to  Congress  the  same  week  that  Mr.  Welles 
made  the  attack  upon  Semmes  : 

"Some  latent  remains  of  pride,  which  belongs  to 
the  profession,  and  which  animated  his  earlier  and 
more  honorable  life  while  sailing  under  the  American 
flag,  undoubtedly  had  an  influence  in  inducing  the 
pirate  commander  to  meet  a  naval  antagonist,  after 
his  long  career  of  robbery  and  plunder  of  unarmed 
vessels,  in  the  vain  hope  that  it  might,  if  successful, 
restore  to  him  some  portion  of  the  respect  which  he 
had  forfeited,  and  at  the  same  time  relieve  him  of 
some  of  the  debasement  he  has  never  ceased  to  feel, 
even  when  applauded  by  those  foreign  partisans 
who  hated  the  country  he  had  deserted.  But  the 
same  dishonor  marked  his  conduct  on  this  occasion 


308  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

as  during  his  whole  ignoble  career.  Before  leaving 
Cherbourg  he  deposited  the  chronometers  and  other 
trophies  of  his  robberies  on  shore.  When  beaten 
and  compelled  to  surrender,  he  threw  overboard  the 
sword  that  was  no  longer  his  own,  and  abusing  the 
generous  confidence  of  his  brave  antagonist  he  stole 
away  in  the  English  tender,  whose  owner  proved 
himself  by  his  conduct  a  fit  companion  for  the  dis 
honored  and  beaten  corsair. 

"  Having  surrendered,  he  cannot  relieve  himself 
of  his  obligations  as  a  prisoner  of  war  until  he  shall 
be  regularly  exchanged.  He  and  each  of  his  surviving 
officers  and  crew,  whether  received  upon  the  Kear- 
sarge  or  the  Deerhound,  are  and  will  be  held  to  be 
prisoners  of  war  and  amenable  to  the  laws  which 
govern  civilized  communities.  A  predatory  rover 
may  set  the  laws  of  nations  as  well  as  those  of  his 
own  country  at  defiance,  but  in  doing  so  he  must 
abide  the  consequences." 

Newspapers  work  in  the  glare  of  public  passion, 
and  voice  the  hot  excitement  of  the  moment,  but  the 
editors  of  the  great  American  dailies,  writing  im 
mediately  on  receipt  of  the  news  the  first  week  in 
July,  show  far  more  poise  in  their  utterances  than 
this  official  of  so  elevated  a  rank  that  he  should 
have  been  superior  to  the  fury  of  the  hour.  Aside 


AFTEEMATH  OF  THE  BATTLE        309 

from  the  foolish  fling  at  Semines  as  a  pirate,  so  uni 
versally  heard  on  all  sides  for  three  years  as  to  be 
really  excusable  in  these  journals,  all  their  deliver 
ances  show  a  restraint  of  rejoicing,  a  moderation  of 
boasting,  that  are  truly  admirable. 

Without  so  intending,  the  New  York  Times 
places  Semmes  on  a  pedestal  for  skill  and  daring  : 

"The  pirate  Alabama  has  at  last  gone  to  the 
bottom  of  the  sea.  After  a  bloody  and  lurid  career 
of  two  years  on  the  high  seas — in  which  career  she 
has  passed  from  one  continent  to  another,  from  the 
North  and  South  Atlantic  to  the  Indian  Ocean,  from 
the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  China  seas,  following  in 
the  wake  of  our  commercial  ships  wherever  they 
could  be  found,  and  burning  and  destroying  them 
wherever  they  were  overtaken — she  has  been  anni 
hilated  on  the  very  first  occasion  that  one  of  our 
ships-of-war  was  enabled  to  get  an  opportunity  to 
measure  metal  with  her." 

The  New  York  Herald  exhibits  a  very  pardonable 
pride : 

"Our  national  anniversary  has  again  brought 
victory  with  it,  and  a  victory  most  delightful  to  the 
national  heart.  Captain  Winslow,  a  native  of 
North  Carolina,  and  a  citizen  of  Massachusetts,  is 
the  hero  of  the  hour — the  happy  and  gallant  man 


310  KAPHAEL  SEMMES 

who  has  had  the  good  fortune  to  give  the  country 
the  intense  thrill  of  patriotic  pleasure  caused  by  the 
announcement  of  the  destruction  of  the  Alabama. 
He  has  wiped  away  gloriously  a  reproach  on  the 
name  of  our  navy,  and  has  revived  the  old  pride 
the  people  felt  in  the  salt  water  history  of  the  Stars 
and  Stripes.  He  has  earned  nobly  every  distinction 
that  the  government  can  confer  upon  him,  and  he 
has  earned  also  an  honorable  place  in  that  brilliant 
record  that  tells  of  the  achievements  of  John  Paul 
Jones,  Oliver  Hazard  Perry,  and  Stephen  Decatur. 

"  The  battle  between  the  Kearsarge  and  the  Ala 
bama  is  a  very  remarkable  one  in  several  respects. 
It  is  the  second  battle  between  wooden  steamships, 
and  exemplifies  pretty  clearly  the  changes  that 
have  been  wrought  in  naval  warfare  by  steam  and 
heavy  guns.  Both  ships  were  maneuvered  hand 
somely  under  fire,  to  such  an  extent  that  they  are 
said  to  have  described  seven  complete  circles  as 
they  neared  each  other.  It  was  a  cool,  steady, 
stand-up  fight,  in  which  with  no  great  discrepancy 
in  weight  of  metal,  and  accidents  aside,  the  best 
handled  ship  was  sure  to  win." 

The  stabs  at  the  British  in  the  Tribune  are  gentle 
enough  for  that  season  of  fiery  patriotism,  only  two 
days  after  the  fourth  of  July  : 


AFTERMATH  OF  THE  BATTLE        311 

"Captain  Raphael  Semmes  of  Dixie  will  hence 
forth  have  ample  leisure  for  those  literary  pursuits 
for  which  his  numerous  contributions  to  the  British 
journals  evince  so  rare  an  aptitude.  His  latest 
effort  is  a  bulletin  of  the  defeat  and  destruction  of 
his  lost  ship,  in  which  he  contrives  to  insinuate 
that  Captain  Winslow  sought  to  drown  him  and 
his  fugitive  crew — an  insinuation  emphatically  re 
futed  by  the  published  log  of  the  Deerhound,  by 
which  vessel  he  was  rescued  from  the  ocean  and 
saved  from  capture.  It  is  hardly  possible  that 
Semmes  did  not  see  that  log,  or  hear  the  material 
fact  stated  by  Mr.  Lancaster,  his  rescuer,  so  as  to 
know  his  insinuation  was  false  when  he  uttered  it. 
He  was  beaten  in  fair  fight — a  fight  which  he  began 
— and  wherein  he  needed  only  to  be  the  better  sea 
man  and  warrior  to  have  achieved  success.  But 
burning  unarmed  merchantmen  is  a  business  more 
congenial  to  his  tastes,  and  those  of  his  British 
patrons  and  crew,  than  fighting  an  honest  ship-of- 
war  with  the  Stars  and  Stripes  waving  above  her 
and  a  crew  of  brave  bluejackets  at  her  guns.77 

The  gratification  of  a  victory  over  the  English, 
in  the  Evening  Post,  is  mild  beside  Mr.  Welles' 
flaming  invective : 

"  The  news  which  we  print  this  morning,  that 


312  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

the  Alabama  has  been  sunk  by  the  Kearsarge,  will 
affect  the  owners  and  seamen  of  our  merchant 
marine  with  the  same  feeling  of  satisfaction  that  is 
felt  by  the  little  boys  at  school  when  a  big  bully 
for  the  first  time  meets  a  fellow  of  his  size,  and  is 
thoroughly  trounced.  The  Alabama  has  been  a 
kind  of  sea  bully  ;  she  has  for  more  than  two  years 
devoted  herself  to  robbing  and  burning  defenseless 
merchant  ships ;  her  captain  constantly  and  care 
fully  ran  away  from  our  men-of-war  sent  in  pur 
suit  of  him.  To  all  this  we  should  have  little  to 
say,  if  Semmes  had  not  everywhere  boasted  of  his 
exploits,  and  at  the  same  time  on  every  occasion 
asserted  for  his  ship  the  character  of  a  man-of-war, 
and  for  himself  that  of  a  naval  officer. 

"  The  Alabama  was  built  in  Liverpool ;  she  was 
manned  by  English  seamen  ;  a  majority  of  her 
officers  were  Englishmen ;  her  guns  were  of  Eng 
lish  make  ;  her  shot  and  shell  were  cast  in  Eng 
land  ;  her  powder  was  manufactured  in  England ; 
her  coal  was  mined  in  England  and  sent  out  to  her 
in  English  ships  under  the  English  flag.  Even  the 
colors  she  bore  were  made  in  England.  She  had 
never  entered  a  Confederate  port.  She  had  not  a 
single  quality  of  a  Confederate  man-of-war  except 
this,  that  her  commander  was  a  deserter  from  the 


AFTEEMATH  OF  THE  BATTLE        313 

United  States  navy.     In  all  else,  in  every  char 
acteristic  but  this  one,  she  was  a  British  ship." 

In  the  South  was  a  strain  of  grief,  tempered  with 
a  chivalrous  contentment,  that  Semrnes  braved  all 
rather  than  hide  behind  a  neutral  barrier.  The 
South  was  gasping  in  exhaustion,  and  not  much  was 
printed  in  the  newspapers.  Still  less  has  been 
preserved  to  the  present,  but  one  of  the  strongest  of 
the  journals,  the  Eichmond  Enquirer,  voices  in  two 
of  its  issues,  July  7th  and  llth,  the  sadness  felt  in 
that  section  by  reason  of  this  defeat  abroad  when 
disasters  were  crowding  thick  upon  those  at  home. 
The  Enquirer  says  on  July  7th:  "  So  the  noble 
Alabama  sleeps  full  fathoms  five.  She  has  well 
earned  a  glorious  repose  on  the  bed  of  old  ocean. 
How  many  Yankee  clippers  full  of  riches  has 
she  sent  before  her?  The  statistics  are  not  at 
hand — but  the  number  rises  considerably  over  the 
hundred.  The  average  pecuniary  value  of  each  one 
of  those  ships  (with  their  cargoes)  was  probably 
greater  than  the  original  cost  of  the  Alabama ;  and 
if  the  loss  to  the  enemy  by  the  perturbation,  inter 
ruption,  and  delay  of  their  commerce  is  added 
thereto,  it  is  safe  to  say  that  the  Alabama  has  paid 
for  herself  five  hundred  times.  She  could  afford  to 
die.  There  are  those  who  blame  Captain  Senames 


314  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

for  going  to  fight  a  heavier  vessel  and  a  more 
numerous  crew  ;  a  vessel  specially  prepared  with  all 
the  naval  resources  of  the  United  States,  expressly 
to  tempt  him  into  a  combat  where  he  would  be 
destroyed.  He  could  indeed  have  remained  in 
harbor,  or  skulked  away  without  fighting,  and  long 
continued  to  be  the  terror  of  Yankee  commerce. 
But  not  without  some  disgrace.  Such  a  course 
would  have  sunk  the  warrior  in  the  hangman.  It  is 
better  as  it  is.  The  Alabama  neither  ran  away,  nor 
was  she  taken.  She  fell  by  the  chance  of  battle 
fighting  to  the  last,  and  not  a  shadow  now  dims  her 
glory.  Her  name  is  written  in  the  pages  of  history 
and  not  written  with  water.  Her  phantom  will 
long  trouble  the  night  watch  of  the  Yankee  skipper. 
Even  now  the  enemy  does  not  believe  she  is  verily 
dead, 

"  '  But  doth  suffer  a  sea  change 
Into  something  rich  and  strange.' 

"  The  spirit  which  gave  her  life,  and  the  necessi 
ties  which  created  her,  still  exist,  and  will  repro 
duce  the  lost  rover  in  some  other  form,  with  some 
other  name." 

Four  days  later,  the  editor  having  at  hand  more 
details  of  the  tragedy  again  recurs  to  the  mournful 
theme  : 


AFTERMATH  OF  THE  BATTLE        315 

"  We  have  lost  the  gallant  Alabama,  but  no 
Federal  flag  floats  in  triumph  from  her  masthead. 
In  the  caves  of  the  ocean  she  lies  with  all  but  honor 
lost.  Captain  Semmes,  notwithstanding  the  fortunes 
of  war  have  gone  against  him,  will  enjoy  the  ap 
proval  of  his  countrymen  in  accepting  the  challenge 
of  the  Federal  captain,  and  fighting  his  ship  to 
destruction,  rather  than  run  away  before  the  eyes  of 
the  world.  He  fought  against  the  heaviest  and 
greatest  odds,  a  superior  ship  built  for  strength  and 
for  war,  with  heavier  guns,  against  a  light-built, 
fast-sailing  chaser  ;  and  these  odds  destroyed  his  ves 
sel.  He  fought  for  the  honor  of  his  country's  navy, 
and  though  he  lost  his  little  ship,  yet  he  saved  the 
honor  of  his  flag.  While  the  country  and  the  world 
will  regret  the  fate  of  the  Alabama,  yet  all  will 
agree  that,  having  run  her  course,  having  fully  and 
effectually  served  the  material  interest  of  her  coun 
try,  her  captain  was  right  in  making  her  last  fight 
for  the  moral  effect  of  illustrating  the  courage  and 
gallantry  of  Confederate  seamen.  Her  sacrifice  was 
rightly  made  ;  her  former  career  had  been  one  of 
triumph,  principally  over  unarmed  vessels ;  and 
when  challenged  before  the  world  even  by  an  enemy 
far  her  superior,  we  rejoice  that  Captain  Semmes 
determined  to  fight  his  enemy  rather  than,  by  slip- 


316  KAPHAEL  SEMMES 


off  in  the  night,  incur  the  suspicion  of  coward 
ice.  Ships  may  be  replaced,  but  honor  once 
tarnished  requires  far  heavier  sacrifices  than  the  cost 
of  navies." 

But  the  Alabama  lived  on,  gilding  the  imagina 
tion  and  enshrined  in  the  fancy.  Facile  pens  con 
stantly  revived  her  exploits  and  the  poets  sang  of 
her  career.  Nearly  fifty  years  after  her  death,  at 
the  centennial  celebration  of  Seniines7  birth,  in  metric 
measure  again  her  spirit  moved  over  the  waters  :— 


14  What  spirit  stirs  'neath  the  sunless  keel 
And  wakes  in  her  silent  shrouds, 
O,  hearts  of  oak,  with  the  grip  of  steel  ? 
Or  was  it  the  passing  clouds  ? 

"  She  has  lain  so  long  by  a  foreign  shore, 
With  never  a  watch  on  deck, 
With  her  sunken  bells  sounding  o'er  and  o'er 
To  the  dead  men  in  her  wreck. 

u  And  the  tides  sweep  over  her  mizzenmast 
Through  the  sails  that  the  channels  laved, 
And  the  seaweed  clings  to  the  thing  of  the  past 
Where  the  stars  and  bars  once  waved. 

"  But,  hearts  of  oak,  with  the  grip  of  steel, 
Wherever  ye  are,  what  reck  ? 
For  the  spirit  of  chivalry  stirs  the  keel 
And  truth  treads  the  quarter-deck. 


AFTEKMATH  OF  THE  BATTLE        317 

"  Fall  twenty  fathoms  below  she  lies, 
But  she  wakes  to-night  from  the  dead  ; 
Through  her  ghastly  rigging  the  night  wind  plies, 
Or  was  it  a  cloud  that  sped  ? 

"  Yea,  come  from  your  graves,  ye  tars  that  have  shared 
Her  glory,  her  anguish,  her  pain  ! 
For  the  mystical  moment  of  time  is  bared 
And  she  sweeps  the  ocean  again  ! 

"  Nor  port,  nor  harbor,  nor  home  is  hers 
As  she  breaks  from  her  silent  lair  ; 
But  the  mighty  heart  of  the  great  South  stirs, 
For  the  spirit  of  Semmes  is  there. 

"  Yea,  corsair  or  viking,  pirate  or  king  ? 
Let  history,  answering,  speak  ! 
For  out  of  the  years  shall  her  record  ring 
While  honor  stands  at  her  peak  ! 

"  The  day  breaks  soon  and  the  night  winds  sleep 
And  the  moon  goes  down  blood-red  ; 
The  mists  of  the  years  have  veiled  the  deep 
And  shrouded  the  deathless  dead. 

"  For  the  night  is  done  and  the  mellowed  age 
Of  the  past  breathes  out  its  tone  ; 
But  the  truth  of  history  holds  its  page, 
Though  the  sea  takes  back  its  own."  l 

Virginia  Frazer  Boyle,  in  Confederate  Veteran,  Sept.,  1909. 


CHAPTER  XV 

LATEK  LIFE  AND  DEATH 

"I  CONSIDERED  my  career  upon  the  high  seas 
closed  by  the  loss  of  my  ship.  .  .  .  We  had  a 
number  of  gallant  Confederate  naval  officers,  both 
in  England  and  France,  eager  and  anxious  to  go 
afloat,  ...  it  would  have  been  ungenerous  in 
me  to  accept  another  command. " 

In  accord  with  this  unselfish  sentiment  which 
Semmes  communicated  to  his  superior,  he  set  out 
with  some  English  friends  on  a  tour  of  the  Conti 
nent  to  visit  other  scenes  and  to  restore  his  health. 
He  was  on  this  pleasure  trip  only  six  weeks  ;  the 
martial  fire  burned  within  him,  and  he  wished  to 
get  back  to  battle  for  his  South,  which  needed  all 
the  help  that  could  be  rendered  her.  Doubtless  his 
scorn  of  Southern  " Carpet  Knights,7'  whom  he 
met  in  numbers  on  his  jaunt,  hastened  his  steps 
homeward. 

Under  the  English  flag,  he  made  his  way  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Eio  Grande,  to  the  village  of  Bagdad, 
from  whence  he  went  overland  to  Matamoras,  and 


LATER  LIFE  AND  DEATH  319 

thence  across  the  river  to  Brownsville,  by  special 
coach  for  part  of  the  way,  and  onward  by  the  reg 
ular  conveyances.  He  soon  covered  the  long,  tire 
some  ride  across  the  state  to  Shreveport,  Louisiana. 
Fourteen  days  in  all  brought  him  into  that  place. 
It  was  now  almost  the  last  of  November.  His  fame 
preceded  him  even  in  the  hamlets  and  at  the  cross 
roads.  ' '  I  was  received  everywhere  with  enthu 
siasm  by  the  warm-hearted  brave  Texaus,' '  he  writes, 
' '  the  hotels  being  all  thrown  open  to  me  free  of  ex 
pense,  and  salutes  of  artillery  greeting  my  entrance 
into  the  towns.  I  was  frequently  compelled  to 
make  short  speeches  to  the  people,  merely  that  they 
might  hear,  as  they  said,  how  the  pirate  talked." 

At  Shreveport,  his  entry  was  marked  by  all  the 
honor  of  which  the  harassed  and  distressed  people 
were  capable.  Both  the  civil  and  military  authori 
ties  accorded  him  formal  welcome.  A  journey  of 
some  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  through  mud  aud> 
swamp  put  him  beside  his  son,  who,  like  his  father, 
had  withdrawn  from  the  United  States  service  and 
joined  the  South.  From  a  pupil  at  West  Point  at 
the  outbreak  of  hostilities,  he  had  risen  to  the  grade 
of  major. 

Of  course   Semmes'    arrival    on    American    soil 
soon   became  known  to  the  Federal  forces,   and, 


320  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

judging  that  he  would  first  aim  for  his  home  iu 
Mobile,  orders  had  been  issued  to  watch  for  him  as 
he  tried  to  cross  the  Mississippi.  As  he  drew  near 
that  barrier,  he  was  very  cautious.  The  path 
across  the  lowlands  was  varied  and  trying.  It  led 
now  through  groves  of  magnificent  trees,  again 
through  tangled  thickets  with  vines  which  almost 
dragged  the  rider  from  his  steed.  He  forded  some 
waters,  swam  others,  and  boated  over  the  widest 
and  deepest  streams. 

He  reached  the  banks  of  the  Mississippi  just  be 
fore  dark,  but  remained  under  cover  of  the  forest 
till  the  proper  moment  of  safety  and  "then  em 
barked  in  a  small  skiff,  sending  back  the  greater 
part  of  our  escort.  Our  boat  was  scarcely  able  to 
float  the  numbers  that  were  packed  in  her.  Her 
gunwales  were  no  more  than  six  inches  above  the 
water's  edge."  But  the  night  was  still,  the  river 
smooth,  and  after  a  signal  of  precaution  from  his 
conductor,  Semmes  and  the  others  leaped  on  shore. 
The  stream  was  strung  with  gunboats,  Semmes 
gliding  between  two,  only  three  miles  apart.  The 
man  who  had  so  deftly  taken  the  Sumter  and  Alabama 
out  of  dangerous  situations  must  have  laughed  to 
himself  to  see  the  efforts  now  made  to  entrap  him. 
Once  on  the  eastern  side  of  the  river,  he  rapidly 


LATEE  LIFE  AND  DEATH  321 

passed  to  Mobile,  and  returned,  one  of  the  celebrities 
of  the  earth,  to  the  spot  that  he  had  left,  unknown 
to  fame,  not  quite  four  years  before. 

Without  delay  he  telegraphed  his  chief  in  Eich- 
mond,  and  was  instructed  to  coine  on  when  he  was 
ready.  That  was  in  some  five  days,  and  again  he 
set  forth  on  his  course.  So  disorganized  was  travel 
that  he  was  two  weeks  in  getting  to  headquarters. 
His  keen  eye  pierced  all  the  confusion  that  he 
witnessed  in  this  extended  trip  through  the  length 
of  the  Confederacy.  Desolation,  poverty,  and  dis 
tress  were  painful,  but  far  more  heart-breaking  was 
the  demoralization  of  the  people.  i  i  Men,  generally, 
seemed  to  have  given  up  the  cause  as  lost,  and  to 
have  set  themselves  to  work,  like  wreckers,  to  save 
as  much  as  possible  from  the  sinking  ship.  The 
civilians  had  betaken  themselves  to  speculation  and 
money  getting,  and  the  soldiers  to  drinking  and 
debauchery." 

Semmes  was  received  with  great  courtesy  by 
Davis  and  Lee.  He  gave  his  observations  and  im 
pressions  as  to  the  state  of  affairs  to  Lee,  but  found 
that  wonderfully  poised  man  fully  aware  of  the 
gloomy  conditions,  although  utterly  powerless  to 
correct  them.  He  was  signally  honored  by  both 
Congress  and  the  Virginia  Legislature,  being  in- 


322  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

vited  to  a  privileged  seat  on  the  floor  in  each  body. 
Shortly  afterward,  on  the  nomination  of  President 
Davis,  he  was  unanimously  confirmed  as  Bear- Ad 
miral,  and  put  in  command  of  the  James  Biver 
fleet,  consisting  of  three  ironclads  and  five  wooden 
gunboats. 

With  the  energy  and  zeal  with  which  he  had 
made  the  Sumter  ready  for  service,  he  set  to  work  in 
this  larger  field,  but  the  odds  were  all  against  him. 
Outside  of  a  few  officers,  his  crews  were  all  lands 
men,  just  as  discouraged  and  discordant  as  their 
comrades  on  shore,  being  like  them  scantily  clad  and 
on  half  rations,  clamorously  applying  for  leaves  of 
absence,  and  deserting  singly  and  in  squads  when 
their  requests  were  refused.  The  far  more  refrac 
tory  elements  on  the  Alabama  had  been  wielded  into 
discipline  in  a  very  few  weeks,  but  that  was  on  the 
high  seas,  shut  in  on  one  ship.  In  a  narrow  river, 
necessitating  drills  on  shore,  even  Semmes'  power  of 
command  failed  to  effect  much  result. 

Semmes  considered  the  circumstances  hourly, 
plotted  Sherman's  advance  nightly  alone  in  his 
cabin,  and  visited  the  Navy  Department  weekly, 
being  told  every  time  to  do  what  he  thought  best. 
Spring  came  on,  nature  awakened  and  grew  brighter, 
but  the  poor  Confederacy  sank  deeper  in  depression. 


LATER  LIFE  AND  DEATH  323 

At  last  on  the  second  of  April,  on  Sunday,  so  often 
the  eventful  day  in  Seinines'  life,  as  he  was  sitting  at 
dinner,  at  four  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  he  read  a  des 
patch  that  he  must  destroy  his  vessels,  and  march  his 
force  to  join  Lee  who  was  in  retreat  after  the  break 
ing  of  his  lines  of  defense  that  morning. 

Semrnes  was  an  adept  at  burning  ships.  He  had 
perhaps  fired  more  than  any  other  man  of  modern 
times.  But  they  were  all  of  his  enemy.  Now  they 
were  to  be  his  own.  He  was  just  as  fearless  and 
thorough  and  his  pen  was  just  as  vivid  and  literary, 
though  excusably  briefer,  as  when  it  described  the 
leaping,  hissing  flames  of  the  Golden  Rocket,  afar 
off  down  in  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  nearly  four  years 
before.  We  detect  no  shrinking  over  the  inevitable 
duty  as  we  read :  "  My  little  squadron  of  wooden 
boats  now  moved  off  up  the  river  by  the  glare  of  the 
burning  ironclads.  They  had  not  proceeded  far 
before  an  explosion  like  the  shock  of  an  earthquake 
took  place,  and  the  air  was  filled  with  missiles.  It 
was  the  blowing  up  of  the  Virginia,  my  late  flag 
ship.  The  spectacle  was  grand  beyond  description. 
Her  shell- rooms  had  been  full  of  loaded  shells.  The 
explosion  of  the  magazine  threw  all  these  shells, 
with  their  fuses  lighted,  into  the  air.  The  fuses  were 
of  different  lengths,  and  as  the  shells  exploded  by 


324  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

twos  and  threes,  and  by  the  dozen,  the  pyrotechnic 
effect  was  very  fine.  The  explosion  shook  the 
houses  in  Eichmond,  and  must  have  waked  the 
echoes  of  the  night  for  forty  miles  around."  When 
he  got  to  the  city  he  did  not  forget  to  set  the  torch 
to  his  wooden  gunboats  also. 

Disasters  could  not  daunt  him.  On  landing  his 
command  of  five  hundred  he  was  told  that  there 
were  no  trains,  that  the  last  one  had  gone  that 
morning  at  daylight.  But  he  had  to  see  for  him 
self.  He  moved  his  force  to  the  station,  there  to 
find  a  small  engine,  but  u  no  one  in  charge  of  any 
thing  and  no  one  knew  anything."  Semmes  was 
not  dismayed,  as  he  had  half  a  dozen  engineers 
among  his  men.  He  tore  down  a  fence  for  fuel,  got 
up  steam,  made  up  a  train,  put  his  troops  aboard 
and  went  off  till  he  came  to  a  grade.  -  Here  he  was 
stalled,  though  "  the  firemen  stirred  their  fires,  the 
engineer  turned  on  all  his  steam,  the  engine  panted 
and  struggled  and  screamed." 

About  this  time,  when  even  he  was  feeling  a  little 
blue  over  his  predicament,  another  engine  was  found 
in  the  workshops.  Both  were  set  to  the  task  and  off 
the  whole  party  went  in  triumph.  This  incident 
was  amusing  to  Semmes,  after  all  his  desperate  ex 
periences  at  sea.  His  "  railroad  cruise  ended  the 


LATER  LIFE  AND  DEATH  325 

next  day, "  at  Danville,  after  a  narrow  escape,  as 
Sheridan's  cavalry  came  to  the  line  just  an  hour 
and  a  half  after  Semmes  had  passed  there.  His 
was  the  last  train  to  get  out  of  Richmond  before  its 
capture.1 

He  remained  at  Danville  ten  days,  and  then  took 
his  men,  now  reduced  to  less  than  half,  especially 
after  the  surrender  of  Lee,  to  North  Carolina,  where 
he  effected  a  junction  with  Johnston,  remaining 
with  him  till  he  and  Sherman  made  their  terms 
for  the  dispersion  of  Johnston's  army.  Semmes 
was  paroled  on  the  first  of  May,  and  at  once  started 
for  home,  getting  there  the  latter  part  of  the  same 
month,  to  begin  the  practice  of  law. 

Seven  and  a  half  months  after,  on  December  15th, 
he  was  arrested  by  a  detail  from  the  United  States 
Marine  Corps  on  an  order  from  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  transferred  to  Washington,  and  "  was  kept  a 
close  prisoner,  with  a  sentinel  at  my  door,  for  nearly 
four  months." 

Just  as  in  the  retirement  of  his  cabin  on  board  a 
vessel  under  his  command,  Semmes  turned  to  his 
ever-constant  confidant  and  solace,  his  diary.  He 
rejoiced  that  he  had  learned  self-control  and 
patience  in  the  navy,  as  he  would  have  been  ex- 
1  "  So.  Hist.  Soc.  Papers,"  Vol.  21,  p.  306. 


326  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

hausted  with  the  contradictory  rumors,  the  specula 
tions  of  his  counsel,  and  the  delays  of  the  authori 
ties.  He  went  to  history  and  literature  for  relief, 
and  then  started  seriously  into  an  investigation  of 
the  law  of  his  case.  Very  early  he  began  shrewdly 
to  suspect  that  the  government  was  not  over-anxious 
to  prosecute  him,  even  though  Winslow  was  brought 
to  Washington  and  the  prosecution  was  "raking up 
sailor  testimony  about  the  wharves  of  New  York 
and  Boston,  and  pious  New  Bedford. "  He  thought 
such  industry  should  find  something  to  try  him 
upon.  He  was  certain  the  lawyers  knew  they  could 
not  convict  him,  yet  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy 
would  be  the  winner,  as  he  would  accomplish  his 
purpose  of  wreaking  vengeance  and  inflicting  pun 
ishment  ;  the  long  incarceration  would  satisfy  the 
ends  as  well  as  a  verdict  of  guilty.  Eventually  he 
saw  that  his  enemies  wanted  to  let  him  go,  but  they 
did  not  know  how  to  do  so  and  yet  justify  them- 
selves  for  having  proceeded  against  him. 

In  close  confinement,  unaware  of  what  net  might 
be  weaving  outside  for  his  entanglement,  debarred 
from  his  family,  with  all  the  circumstances  of  a 
nature  to  make  him  serious  and  apprehensive,  his 
sarcasm  melts  into  humor  when  held  up  for  viola 
tion  of  faith  in  being  rescued  by  the  Deerhound :  "I 


LATER  LIFE  AND  DEATH  327 

am  busy  preparing  a  paper  answering  the  charge  of 
illegal  escape,  but  the  demonstration  is  like  an  at 
tempt  to  elucidate  an  axiom  or  first  principle  in 
mathematics.  It  is  so  clear  upon  its  first  statement 
that  the  demonstration  is  not  only  superfluous  but 
does  not  tend  to  make  the  proposition  more 
clear. " 

It  comes  to  his  knowledge  that  his  acrid  antago 
nist,  Secretary  Welles,  l '  though  very  bitter  in  the 
beginning,  is  much  modified,"  and  "  speaks  respect 
fully  and  kindly  of  me,  inquires  whether  my  diet  is 
good  and  well  served,  etc.,  and  says  he  is  ready  to 
release  me  at  anytime,7'  and  "regrets  that  I  re 
turned  to  the  country  ;  a  good  deal  of  trouble  might 
have  been  saved  if  I  had  not  done  so. "  Outside  of 
his  walls  other  channels  were  being  opened  to  aid 
him.  Johnston  had  communicated  with  Grant,  who 
promised  his  great  influence. 

Notwithstanding  the  efforts  of  his  friends,  the  ex 
pedients  of  his  counsel,  and  his  own  sense  of  inno 
cence,  he  was  in  a  cage.  For  decades  he  had  been 
in  the  ocean  breezes  on  the  deck  of  a  boat,  and  here 
he  was  cut  off  from  fresh  air,  shut  in  by  four  walls. 
His  philosophy  bore  it  all,  but  it  is  a  fair  thing  for 
us  to  take  a  glimpse  into  the  recesses  of  his  heart 
through  the  entries  of  one  day  in  his  diary  : 


328  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

"  The  ground  is  covered  with  snow  this  morning 
to  the  depth  of  six  or  eight  inches ;  wind  from  the 
north  singing  its  mournful  song  by  my  nailed 
windows,  and  there  is  a  leaden  sky  overhead.  The 
only  merry  sound  that  comes  to  me  is  the  occasional 
jingling  of  a  sleigh  bell. 

u  Within  I  have  the  usual  routine  of  a  prison  life. 
This  routine  I  have  not  yet  described. 

"My  room  is  in  the  attic;  it  is  very  plainly 
furnished,  but  has  sufficient  for  comfort.  One  of 
its  two  windows  looks  to  the  east,  in  the  direction 
of  the  eastern  branch  of  the  Potomac,  and  of  my 
good  old  native  state  of  Maryland.  The  other 
window  gives  me  a  view  of  the  Potomac,  in  whose 
waters  I  used  to  swim  and  fish  as  a  boy,  and  of  the 
distant  hills  in  the  direction  of  Alexandria,  of  the 
grand  old  mother  of  states  and  statesmen,  now 
mourning  in  her  desolation,  and  looking  down,  as  I 
can  fancy,  with  sad  reproach  upon  her  parricidal 
offspring,  the  states  of  her  own  loins  that  have  be 
trayed  her  and  destroyed  her  glorious  old  doctrines 
of  '76  and  '98.  In  unison  with  this,  her  melancholy 
situation,  with  the  unfinished  Washington  monu 
ment,  speaking  of  the  ingratitude  of  the  nation,  is 
seen  nearly  in  the  same  direction  with  Lee's  man 
sion  and  the  dome  of  the  Capitol,  and  from  the  lat 
ter  flaunts  the  flag,  the  old  flag  made  new  by  the 
war,  which  daily  covers  in  their  deliberations  the 
faction  of  the  Kump  Congress  which  daily  and 
hourly  proclaims  the  Southern  states  to  be  con 
quered  provinces  and  refuses  admission  to  their 
representatives. 

u  As  I  pass  restlessly  to  and  fro  in  my  narrow 
quarters,  endeavoring  to  take  a  little  of  that  tread 
mill  exercise  which  my  inhuman  jailers  deny  me 
out-of-doors,  even  in  the  walled  barrack  yard  of  a 


LATER  LIFE  AND  DEATH  329 

military  post,  I  cast  alternate  glances  upon  Mary- 
laud  and  Virginia  through  these  two  windows,  re 
flect  upon  the  past  and  speculate  upon  the  future, 
and  such  a  past  and  such  a  future  !  But  a  kind 
Providence  interposes  His  veil  between  us  and  the 
dread  events  of  the  unknown  future  that  awaits  a 
people  who  seeni  to  have  abandoned  themselves  to 
their  passions,  regardless  of  all  precepts,  moral  or 
divine. 

"My  routine  life,  which  I  had  begun  to  describe 
when  these  reflections  led  me  astray,  is  as  follows  : 
I  rise  in  the  morning  about  8 : 30,  when  the  drum 
under  my  window  beats  the  first  call  for  morning 
inspection  and  parade  ;  my  attendant  in  the  mean 
time  has  made  me  a  fire.  I  proceed  to  wash  and 
dress.  I  have  plenty  of  water,  soap,  and  towels 
furnished  me.  I  am  usually  ready  for  breakfast  by 
a  quarter  past  nine,  at  which  hour  my  breakfast  is 
brought  in.  I  am  supplied  by  a  restaurant  in  the 
neighborhood ;  my  meals  are  satisfactory.  I  am 
frequently  asked  to  call  for  any  particular  viands 
that  I  may  desire,  but  I  decline,  leaving  the  selec 
tion  to  the  restaurateur.  My  newspaper  is  brought 
in  with  my  breakfast.  It  is  the  National  Intelli 
gencer  !  But  how  changed  from  the  days  of  Clay 
and  Calhouu  !  I  read  in  it  sometimes  such  a  para 
graph  as  this  :  <  The  trial  of  Eaphael  Semmes '  (it 
does  not  even  call  me  the  late  admiral,  or  the  so- 
called  admiral,  or  the  so-called  late  admiral  of  the  so- 
called  Confederate  States),  l  Late  Commander  of  the 
Rebel  Steamer  Alabama,  it  is  generally  believed, 
will  take  place  very  shortly.  The  full  detail  for  the 
court  has  not  yet  been  made,  but  it  is  believed  that 
the  arrival  in  this  city  of  Commodore  Winslow  has 
something  to  do  with  the  subject.' 

"  I  do  not  think  I  shall  be  speedily  tried.     This 


330  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

would  not  be  in  accord  with  the  Bastile  system  im 
ported  from  a  bygone  age  and  the  French  Bevolu- 
tion  into  the  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  century 
and  the  American  Eevolution.  Nor  do  I  think  I 
shall  be  tried  at  all,  as  the  government  has  no  case 
and  can  make  none,  though  it  is  even  now  scouring 
the  '  mappings  '  of  the  Northern  commercial  cities 
for  evidence  against  the  pirate.  N'importe,  I  shall 
be  punished.  Have  already  been  punished  by  a 
close  confinement  of  thirty  days,  and  the  ends  of 
justice  shall  thus  be  secured. 

"  But  to  proceed  with  my  daily  routine.  My 
newspaper  and  breakfast  occupy  me  until  eleven 
o'clock.  I  then  rise  and  walk  about  in  my  room  to 
stretch  my  cramped  limbs  and  prevent  the  life  cur 
rent  in  my  veins  from  actual  stagnation.  I  then 
sit  down  and  read.  I  have  some  law  books  and 
histories  with  me  by  the  thoughtful  providence  of 
friends.\  I  have  ever  found  when  in  trouble  that 
the  best  remedy  is  to  chain  down  the  imagination 
in  its  flights  and  set  the  reason  at  work,  at  such 
work  that  she  could  not  relax  her  hold  of  her  sub 
ject  without  having  it  all  to  do  over  again,  like  Sisy 
phus  at  his  rock.  Mathematics  and  law  are  such 
subjects.  The  mind  from  the  necessity  of  close  ap 
plication  loses  itself,  becomes  absorbed  in  the  sub 
ject  before  it,  and  thus  shuts  out  the  prison  walls 
and  makes  the  prisoner  forget  his  imprisonment. 
Blessed  faculty  ! 

"But  sometimes  even  amid  those  stern  pages  lov 
ing  eyes  will  intrude,  the  moist  and  saddened  eyes 
of  loving  hearts  in  our  far-off  and  now  disconsolate 
home  !  And  then  the  philosopher  is  overcome,  his 
manhood  is  about  to  give  way,  he  throws  down  his 
book  and  again  is  heard  the  tramp,  tramp,  of  his 
narrow  cell,  as  you  may  have  observed,  .  .  .  the 


LATER  LIFE  AND  DEATH  331 

ceaseless  turnings  about  of  the  tiger  or  the  lion  in  his 
cage.  I  thus  alternately  walk  and  read,  sometimes 
throwing  myself  on  my  sofa  in  my  weariness  and 
heart-sickness,  until  the  lock  is  heard  to  grate  and 
turn  in  my  door,  and  my  guard  reenters  with  my 
dinner,  my  solitary  dinner ! 

"It  is  now  three  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  and 
two- thirds  of  the  weary  day  has  been  gotten  through 
with.  A  day  without  a  word  of  intelligence  from 
my  captors,  or  their  intentions  or  designs.  They 
are  all  too  busy  with  the  gay  world  to  heed  the 
groans  of  the  prisoner.  Let  the  hated  rebel  pine 
and  suffer.  He  struck  at  the  life  of  this  great  and 
glorious  nation.  Yes,  I  did  strike  at  its  life,  but  I 
struck  as  the  surgeon  strikes,  to  save  the  life  of  the 
nation.  The  patient  struggled  and  was  stronger 
than  the  surgeon,  and  now  the  patient  is  dead. 
The  government  of  our  fathers  has  been  changed. 
There  are  now,  says  the  dominant  party,  no  more 
state  lines  ;  the  states  are  dead  and  a  great  consoli 
dated  republic  has  arisen  upon  the  ruins.  May 
God  save  the  life  which  the  South  was  unable  to 
save,  and  grant  this  nation  may  survive  longer  than 
I  believe  it  will. 

"The  day  now  wanes,  the  sun  is  sinking  over 
the  hills  of  Virginia,  the  navy  yard  bell  rings,  and  a 
stream  of  working  men  comes  out  of  the  gates  and  is 
tramping  up  the  avenue  that  leads  by  my  prison. 
These  men  are  all  going  to  their  homes,  to  their  fire 
sides,  to  their  little  ones.  Happy  working  men  ! 

"Night  has  strewn  her  shadows  over  the  land 
scape  and  darkened  my  windows  and  my  servant 
enters  with  a  light.  It  is  dark  at  5  : 30  o'clock  and 
I  have  thus  five  hours  of  candle-light  before  10  :  30, 
bedtime,  the  hour  of  sweet  oblivion  !  '  Blessed,7 
said  the  innocent  Sancho,  *  is  the  man  who  invented 


332  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

sleep.'  You  knew  not,  Saucho,  when  you  uttered 
these  words  how  much  philosophy  they  embraced. 
Blessed,  thrice  blessed,  is  sleep  to  the  prisoner.  It 
shuts  out  those  soft  eyes  that  looked  out  at  him 
from  between  the  pages  of  his  book.  It  quiets  his 
teeming  brain  and  throbbing  heart.  It  withdraws 
him  [from]  the  contemplation  of  man's  injustice, 
and  in  dreams  it  sometimes  even  restores  him  to  his 
far-off  home.  I  have  always  been  a  good  sleeper, 
and  I  sleep  soundly.  Once  or  twice  in  the  night  I 
am  disturbed  by  the  officer  looking  in  upon  me 
with  a  lantern  to  see  that  I  have  not  yet  escaped  ! 
The  tramp  of  the  sentinel  at  my  door  then  lulls  me 
again  into  forgetfulness.  This  ...  is  one  of 
my  days  in  prison." 


Secretary  Welles  also  kept  a  diary,  which  has 
seen  the  light  of  day  in  the  last  few  years.  He,  too, 
was  frank  in  his  record.  He  threw  open  the  portals 
of  his  heart  and  he  lets  any  one  who  cares  to  read 
see  his  squirmings  and  wriggliugs.  Farther  back, 
during  the  heat  and  noise  of  the  war,  he  was  almost 
pitiable  in  the  torrent  of  foolish  epithets  he  hurled 
at  Semmes,  such  as  "pirate,"  " corsair,"  " bucca 
neer,  "  and  similar  terms  without  an  atom  of  founda 
tion.  But  our  respect  rises  when  we  see  that  he  has 
the  strength  to  show  us  his  weakness.  Still  better 
would  it  have  been  if  he  had  bluntly  written  that  he 
was  wrong. 

His  anger  had  cooled  during  those  seven  months 


LATER  LIFE  AND  DEATH  333 

after  the  Sherman- Johnston  convention,  and  it  is  a 
safe  judgment  that  in  the  secret  chambers  of  his 
own  soul  he  saw  there  was  no  ground  for  molesting 
Seinines.  But  his  latent  prejudice  stirred  him,  a 
partisan  press  prodded  him,  and  he  was  likely 
egged  on  by  pedantic  politicians  like  Sumner. 

"It  is  a  duty  which  I  could  not  be  justified  in 
evading,77  he  wrote,  "  yet  I  shall  acquire  no  laurels 
in  the  movement.  But  .  .  .  the  proceedings 
against  this  man  will  be  approved  by  pos 
terity." 

He  got  no  triumph  in  his  course,  and  just  so 
surely  sober  thought  could  not  have  endorsed  it.  He 
consulted  lawyers  and  publicists,  and  tried  to  get 
the  suit  made  an  administrative  matter,  or  at  least 
a  combination  of  the  two  military  departments, 
through  a  mixed  commission  of  soldiers  and  sailors. 
He  wanted  to  drop  all  counts  of  treason,  piracy,  or 
offenses  amenable  in  civil  courts,  and  rely  on  an 
indictment  of  Semmes  for  violation  of  the  laws  of 
war  in  escaping  on  the  Deerliound.  Even  here,  re 
ferring  to  Semmes,  Welles  could  only  "  suppose  he 
was  guilty  of  violating  the  usages  and  laws  of  war,7' 
and  further  he  confessed  that  on  examination  "the 
points  had  been  narrowed  and  mitigated  so  that  his 
offense  was  really  less  aggravated  than  had  been 


33i  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

charged  and  believed."  Of  course  President  John 
son  procrastinated,  conferred  with  other  officials, 
called  for  a  list  of  members  for  a  military  com 
mission,  promised  to  sign  the  commission,  then 
decided  he  would  have  no  more  of  such  bodies,  then 
found  out  that  the  courts  were  not  acting  in  matters 
of  treason  or  piracy,  then  wanted  to  parole  Semmes. 
Welles  by  this  time  was  abashed  at  the  unjust,  ar 
bitrary  treatment  of  Senimes,  and  saw  clearly  that, 
as  the  President  would  not  have  a  commission  and 
as  the  courts  would  not  act  for  treason,  there  was 
nothing  to  do  but  to  release  Senimes  uncondi 
tionally,  as  far  as  the  executive  branch  was  con 
cerned. 

As  nothing  could  be  done  administratively,  the 
endeavor  was  made  judicially,  a  drag  net  of  law 
having  been  cast  out  to  catch  Semmes  in  some  of  its 
meshes.  The  solicitor  of  the  Navy  Department, 
J.  A.  Bolles,  was  making  most  prodigious  efforts  to 
frame  a  case  against  him.  To  the  layman,  drink 
ing  in  the  opinions  of  the  street,  the  halter  was 
already  around  Semmes'  neck.  The  wildest,  most 
savage  animosity  had  raged  against  him  since  he 
had  begun  his  exploits  on  the  Sumter,  not  confined 
to  reckless  editors  or  thoughtless  partisans. 

So  distinguished  a  man  as  Edward  Everett  had 


LATER  LIFE  AND  DEATH  335 

bitterly  denounced  Semmes  as  a  pirate,  even  after 
the  Alabama's  crew  had  been  treated  as  prisoners 
of  war.  This  was  perhaps  to  be  condoned  in  an 
orator  and  rhetorician,  but  Secretary  Welles,  blindly 
fatuous  as  to  all  law  and  logic,  in  one  and  the  same 
report  had  stigmatized  Senimes  as  a  " corsair"  and 
a  " pirate"  and  then  recognized  him  as  a  "  prisoner 
of  war"  entitled  to  exchange. 

It  was  the  whip  and  spur  of  this  unreasoning 
hatred  that  drove  the  lawyer  to  his  disagreeable 
task,  as  it  had  been  guaranteed  Semmes  at  his  sur 
render  that  he  was  not  to  be  disturbed  for  any  acts 
of  war  anterior  to  that  time.  But  this  phrase  could 
be  twisted,  and  the  attorneys  did  so  at  once.  They 
argued  that  it  did  not  debar  prosecutions  for  viola 
tions  of  the  laws  of  war.  The  issue  was  made  upon 
that  ground. 

The  question  arose  :  What  were  Semmes'  viola 
tions  of  the  laws  of  war,  and  what  was  the  evidence  ? 
Five  lines  of  inquiry  were  carried  on  :  Was  it  wrong 
to  destroy  ships  instead  of  taking  them  into  port  ? 
Had  he  been  cruel  to  his  captives?  Was  he  justifi 
able  in  hoisting  false  flags  to  deceive  his  enemy  f 
Was  it  an  offense  to  capture  United  States  vessels  in 
neutral  waters'?  Had  he  been  perfidious  in  the 
fight  with  the  Kearsarge  ? 


336  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

The  putting  of  these  queries  in  ordinary  language 
shows  the  flimsiness  of  the  case  against  Semmes,  and 
it  is  to  the  credit  of  the  solicitor  that  he  unquali 
fiedly  dropped  four  of  the  counts,  and  posterity  has 
just  as  entirely  dropped  the  fifth  one.  If  Solicitor 
Bolles  had  not  been  carried  away  by  the  passion  of 
the  hour,  he  himself  would  just  as  quickly  have 
discarded  that  one  also. 

A  little  cool  reflection  soon  showed  that  three  of 
the  positions  were  hopelessly  untenable.  Captures 
in  neutral  waters  were  matters  for  the  neutral  powers 
themselves  to  consider.  Fooling  the  enemy  with 
foreign  flags,  and  burning  prizes  on  the  high  seas, 
had  been  too  often  practiced  successfully  by  Ameri 
can  sailors  in  wars  with  England  for  this  country  to 
raise  a  point  on  them  against  Semmes.  He  had 
done  only  what  Americans  had  proudly  done  times 
without  number,  and  might  want  to  do  again,  and 
it  would  not  do  now  finally  to  debar  themselves 
from  the  use  of  such  devices. 

As  to  cruelty  toward  prisoners,  Mr.  Bolles  pro 
ceeded  in  a  comprehensive,  well-balanced  manner. 
The  very  air  was  rife  with  charges  against  Semmes 
that  he  had  been  guilty  of  the  oppression  of  his 
captives,  and  hundreds  of  rumors  came  from  all 
quarters.  Bolles  caught  up  all  he  could,  advertised 


LATER  LIFE  AND  DEATH  337 

for  more,  and  then  fearlessly  and  impartially  sifted 
the  evidence.  At  the  start  it  looked  black  for 
Semmes,  especially  with  regard  to  the  Solferino 
and  the  Amazonian. 

The  consul  at  Queenstown,  Ireland,  in  1866,  had 
transmitted  to  his  superior  the  information  that 
some  of  the  Alabama's  crew  had  declared  that 
Semmes  had  fallen  in  with  a  vessel  of  the  build  of 
the  Solferino,  had  fired  into  her,  and  had  sunk  her 
with  all  on  board,  even  though  she  had  immediately 
on  being  hailed  surrendered  without  any  resistance 
whatever.  But  one  of  the  Alabama's  crew  was 
brought  over  from  England.  He  denied  it  all,  and 
fully  established  the  fact  that  she  could  never  have 
been  nearer  than  five  hundred  miles  to  the  Solferino, 
which  had  undoubtedly  foundered  at  sea. 

The  accusations  of  harsh  treatment  of  some  of  the 
crew  of  the  Amazonian  were  seen  to  be  just  as 
groundless.  It  was  alleged  that  one  man  was 
handled  so  roughly  and  starved  so  barbarously  that 
he  died  on  the  Alabama,  all  because  he  had  resisted 
the  lowering  of  his  ship's  flag  when  he  was  ordered 
to  do  so.  It  was  learned  from  the  captain  of  the 
burnt  boat  that  nothing  of  this  kind  had  occurred, 
that  all  had  been  cared  for  "  as  well  as  they  could 
expect, "  that  all  had  been  set  ashore  at  a  foreign 


338  EAPHAEL  8EMMES 

port,  that  the  person  in  question  had  found  passage 
home  on  board  a  neutral,  and  that  he  had  died  on  the 
voyage  from  sickness,  not  from  violence  or  rough 
treatment. 

Two  other  cases  were  investigated,  and  both 
turned  out  to  be  just  as  baseless.  Bolles  closed  this 
chapter  of  "  slanderous  rumors  and  idle  gossip  "  by 
the  judicial  conclusion  that  "in  not  one  solitary  in 
stance  was  there  furnished  a  particle  of  proof  that 
.  .  .  Semmes  .  .  .  had  ever  maltreated  his 
captives. " 

Nothing  was  left  but  the  question  of  Semmes'  con 
duct  in  the  last  fight  of  the  Alabama.  The  five 
counts  against  him  had  dwindled  to  one,  and  still 
better  would  it  have  been  had  they  dwindled  to 
none.  When  arrested,  Semmes  was  charged  with 
triple  perfidy  ;  he  had  begun  firing  again  after  hav 
ing  shown  a  white  flag,  had  broken  faith  in  escap 
ing,  and  had  reentered  the  u  rebel  service  "  without 
having  been  exchanged. 

At  this  distance  from  the  raging  tumult  of  the 
day,  it  is  hard  to  see  how  a  man  of  Bolles' s  judicial 
experience  could  have  had  any  patience  with  such 
childish  clamor,  but  he  was  calm,  and  exhaustively 
followed  out  all  three  lines  to  the  end.  He  went 
through  all  of  Winslow's  official  despatches  and 


LATER  LIFE  AND  DEATH  339 

found  no  complaint  against  Semmes  until  thirty- 
seven  days  after  the  battle.  Winslow  gave  no  hint 
of  such  charge  either  in  the  report  on  the  day  of  the 
conflict  or  in  that  of  the  next  day ;  in  fact  he  had 
charged  nothing  of  the  sort  at  all  until  he  had 
seen  Semines'  accusation  that  the  Kearsarge  fired 
on  the  Alabama  after  the  flag  had  come  down.  And 
yet  "this  dilatory  complaint  was  the  basis  of  the 
charge  on  which  Semmes  was  ultimately  arrested." 

Seven  of  the  Kearsarge  officers,  including  the  cap 
tain,  were  called  to  Washington  and  examined  as  to 
the  Alabama's  beginning  to  fire  after  she  had  sur 
rendered.  They  were  so  at  variance  in  their  state 
ments  that  it  was  folly  to  attempt  a  suit  on  their 
evidence. 

By  this  time  all  were  weary  and  ashamed  of  the 
matter  and  felt  that  it  was  best  to  release  Semmes, 
since  the  trial  could  take  on  only  the  form  of  parti 
san  persecution.  Dozens  of  witnesses  had  been  ex 
amined,  hundreds  of  letters  had  been  written,  nu 
merous  advertisement's  for  proof  had  appeared,  the 
Atlantic  seaports  had  been  raked  over,  the  utter 
most  corners  of  the  earth  had  been  invited  to  offer 
evidence  of  guilt,  and  nothing  against  Semmes'  con 
duct  or  character  had  been  found.  He  remained 
unscorched  in  this  baptism  of  legal  fire.  Nevcrthe- 


340  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

less,  it  was  Bolles's  deliberate  belief  that  had  he 
been  tried  immediately  ou  his  arrest,  he  would  have 
been  convicted  and  hanged.1 

Perhaps  Seinraes'  own  exertions  had  as  much  to  do 
with  his  regaining  his  liberty  as  the  briefs  of  counsel 
or  the  pleadings  of  friends.  He  had  not  been  behind 
the  bars  a  month  before  he  sent  a  keen,  clear-cut 
argument  to  President  Johnson,  proving  how  illegal 
and  unconstitutional  his  arrest  and  imprisonment 
were.  He  took  his  stand  on  a  few  profound  prin 
ciples,  strongly  expounded. 

He  reasoned  that  his  parole,  based  on  the  terms 
of  the  surrender  by  General  Johnston,  guaranteed 
him  against  all  molestation  for  lt  any  act  of  war 
committed  anterior  to  the  date  of  that  convention.77 
Of  course,  he  granted,  he  could  be  held  for  trans 
gressions  that  were  not  acts  of  war, — forgery  for  in 
stance  ; — but  classifying  all  possible  acts  of  war,  a 
violation  of  the  laws  of  war  would  fall  under  the 
head  of  acts  of  war,  and  under  the  terms  of  his  dis 
charge  he  could  not  be  held  liable  for  such  act.  His 
escape  on  the  Deerhound  was  either  in  consonance 
with  the  laws  of  war  or  was  in  defiance  of  them,  but 
in  either  case  it  was  an  act  of  war,  and  of  course  he 
was  not  legally  accountable  for  it,  since  the  conven- 
1  Atlantic  Monthly,  Vol.  30,  July,  Aug.,  1872. 


LATEB  LIFE  AND  DEATH  341 

tion  between  Sherman  and  Johnston  was  an  "  obliv 
ion  of  all  acts  of  war  of  whatever  nature." 

Neither,  during  the  war  nor  after  the  war,  could 
he  be  tried  for  treason,  as  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  "  declares  in  words  that  treason 
against  the  United  States  shall  consist  only  in  levy 
ing  war  against  them,  or  in  adhering  to  their  ene 
mies,  giving  them  aid  and  comfort, — all  of  which  ad 
herence,  giving  of  aid  and  comfort,  etc.,  are  equally 
acts  of  war. " 

The  Attorney  General  had  argued  that  Semmes 
could  be  tried  after  the  close  of  the  war  by  the  civil 
tribunals,  since  the  military  convention  would  then 
expire,  just  as  a  parole  ceases  in  such  circumstances, 
and  of  course  such  person  could  be  haled  before  the 
courts  for  previous  offenses.  He  confused  two  terms, 
asserted  Semmes,  because  the  instrument  of  his  sur 
render  expressly  provides  that  he  is  "  not  to  be  dis 
turbed  ' '  so  long  as  he  observes  the  agreement,  not 
alone  during  war  time,  but  for  all  time  whether  in 
peace  or  not ;  and  he  is  "not  to  be  disturbed  "  by 
any  branch  of  the  United  States  government. 

Semmes  had  been  seized  for  an  act  committed  ten 
months  before  the  surrender  in  North  Carolina, 
widely  known  over  the  entire  land,  indeed  over  the 
world,  and  therefore  certainly  to  the  "  Federal 


342  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

Government. "  "  If,"  says  Senimes,  "  that  authority 
then  entertained  the  design,  which  it  has  since 
developed,  of  arresting  and  trying  me  for  this  al 
leged  breach  of  the  laws  of  war,  was  it  not  its  duty, 
both  to  itself  and  to  me,  to  have  made  me  an  excep 
tion  to  any  military  terms  it  might  have  been  dis 
posed  to  grant  to  our  armies  ?  I  put  it  to  you,  Mr. 
President,  .  .  .  whether  it  was  consistent  with 
honor  and  fair  dealing  for  the  government  first  to 
entrap  me,  by  means  of  a  military  convention,  and 
then,  having  me  in  its  power,  to  arrest  me  and  de 
clare  the  convention  null  and  void." 

He  eloquently  besought  the  President  not  to 
tarnish  the  pages  of  that  history  which  he  was  mak 
ing  and  of  which  "  my  record  and  that  of  the  gal 
lant  South"  were  a  part,  by  any  deed  of  perfidy. 
The  ' '  passions  of  men,  North  and  South,  were  tossed 
into  a  whirlwind  by  the  current  events  of  the  most 
bloody  and  terrific  war  that  the  human  race  had 
ever  seen,"  but  "I  shall  hope  to  justify  and  defend 
myself  against  any  and  all  charges  affecting  the 
honor  and  reputation  of  a  man  and  a  soldier. 
Whatever  else  may  be  said  of  me,  I  have  at  least 
brought  no  discredit  upon  the  American  name  and 
character." 

Through  his  own  burning  words,  through  the  col- 


LATEE  LIFE  AND  DEATH  343 

lapse  of  the  legal  case  against  him,  through  the 
cooling  of  Welles' s  fury,  through  the  softening  of 
the  hearts  of  politicians,  through  the  spreading  spirit 
of  forgiveness  for  the  past,  through  the  complica 
tions  of  politics,  or  through  a  combination  of  all 
these  influences,  happily  for  the  American  memory, 
the  record  was  saved  from  the  stain  of  Sernmes' 
blood  by  his  release  in  the  spring.1 

The  mighty  captain  in  Washington  had  not  trod 
the  quarter-deck  for  the  past  twelvemonth,  and  his 
ward-room  reeked  with  feverish  forebodings,  frantic 
fears,  and  the  futile  frothings  of  auger,  but  time 
mellowed  the  hearts  and  kind  fate  guided  the 
destiny  of  the  nation.  The  victors  kept  their 
pledges,  with  one  or  two  bare  exceptions.  Seinines 
was  allowed  his  freedom,  and  he  turned  his  back  for 
ever  on  that  awful  drama  of  pain  and  death  in  which 
he  had  played  so  signal  and  so  worthy  a  part. 

His  career  of  arms  was  over,  but  his  fame  went  to 

1  On  April  6,  1866,  Secretary  Welles  officially  addressed  Pres 
ident  Johnson,  that  "  In  view  of  the  recent  decision  of  the  U.S. 
Supreme  Court  in  the  Indiana  military  commission  cases, 
and  of  the  present  condition  of  affairs,  it  is  respectfully  advised 
that  Raphael  Semmes,  unless  you  shall  deem  it  proper  to  have 
him  tried  forthwith,  be  unconditionally  discharged  from  cus 
tody  under  his  present  arrest,  and  that  he  be  remitted  to  his 
original  written  parole."  Johnson  endorsed  on  this,  "The 
recommendation  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  is  approved,  let 
the  prisoner  be  released  from  custody." — No.  7  of  Vol.  II, 
"Executive  Letters,  April,  June,  1866,"  Navy  Dept.  Archives. 


344  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

tlie  uttermost  bounds  of  the  earth.  His  wondrous 
adventures  have  been  weighed  and  remarked  by  the 
eminent  of  the  world,  one  of  the  most  notable  in 
stances  being  the  war  lord  of  to-day,  the  Emperor  of 
Germany,  who  observed  to  an  American  consul :  "I 
reverence  the  name  of  Seinmes.  In  my  opinion  he 
was  the  greatest  admiral  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
At  every  conference  with  my  admirals,  I  counsel 
them  to  closely  read  and  study  Semnies'  i  Memoirs 
of  Service  Afloat. ;  I  myself  feel  constant  delight  in 
reading  and  rereading  the  mighty  career  of  the 
wonderful  Stormy  Petrel."  l 

Semmes  wended  his  way  again  to  Mobile,  and  was 
soon  elected  probate  judge  of  Mobile  county,  but 
was  not  allowed  by  the  Federal  authorities  to  serve. 
He  was  also  cut  off  from  legal  practice  by  the  test 
oath  demanded  of  former  military  men.  In  the 
autumn  of  1866  came  to  him  an  appointment  on  the 
academic  ntaff  of  the  Louisiana  State  Seminary,  at 
Alexandria,  to  teach  moral  philosophy  and  English 
literature,  at  a  salary  of  $3,000  per  annum. 

Seven  years  before,  the  head  of  this  institution, 
which  was  afterward  removed  to  Baton  Eouge  and 

1  "  So.  Hist.  Soc.  Papers,"  Vol.  38,  p.  24,  1910.  Uttered  in 
1894  to  Frederick  Opp  who  certifies  as  to  correctness  in  private 
letter  of  Aug.  26,  1912. 


LATER  LIFE  AND  DEATH  346 

eventually  there  developed  into  the  present  State 
University,  was  W.  T.  Sherman,  who  resigned  to 
go  North  and  offer  his  services  to  the  government  of 
the  United  States,  and  who  finally  became  the 
famous  general  that  captured  Atlanta  and  marched 
to  the  sea  at  Savannah. 

There  was  such  desire  to  obtain  Semmes  that  the 
superintendent  offered  to  vacate  his  post  and  be 
demoted,  so  that  the  admiral  could  be  put  in  con 
trol,  but  the  board  in  charge  deemed  it  best  not  to 
do  this. 

With  his  knowledge  of  law  and  philosophy,  with 
his  taste  for  literature,  with  his  wide  experience  of 
men  and  life,  and  with  his  trained  intellect,  it  was  a 
matter  of  course  that  he  would  be  well  fitted  for  his 
new  duties,  and  that  he  should  be  successful  in  this 
strange  field.  "  His  work  at  the  seminary  was  with 
the  junior  and  senior  classes,"  with  the  usual  text 
books  of  the  time,  in  metaphysics,  ethics,  criticism, 
logic,  rhetoric  and  Christian  evidences.  ' l  Not  much 
is  known  of  his  method  of  teaching,  except  that  for 
the  most  part  he  lectured  to  the  students,  quizzing 
but  little.  In  daily  life  at  the  seminary  and  in  his 
intercourse  with  the  faculty  and  students,  he  was 
quiet  and  dignified,  of  easy  manners  and  rather  re 
tiring  disposition.  Of  his  unique  naval  career, 


346  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

about  which  all  wished  to  hear,  he  would  say  but 
little. "  He  had  left  his  family  in  Alabama,  and 
boarded  with  one  of  the  professors. 

But  political  storms  were  brewing.  The  throes 
and  woes  of  reconstruction  were  upon  the  hapless 
people.  Denunciation  poured  forth  upon  a  corps 
of  teachers  consisting  of  "  rebel  officers  just  from 
the  Confederacy77  and  a  body  of  students  mainly 
11  late  Confederate  soldiers  and  sons  of  rebel  plant 
ers."  Seniines  was  too  keen  a  judge  not  to  scent 
trouble  ahead  from  these  radical  assaults.  Besides, 
he  felt  a  little  out  of  place,  as  he  was  so  much  older 
than  his  colleagues,  none  of  whom  was  over  thirty. 
In  addition  he  was  offered  the  editorship  of  the 
Memphis  Bulletin.  He  got  leave  of  absence  in  1867, 
went  to  Memphis,  and  in  June  of  that  year  sent  in 
his  resignation.1 

In  savage  vindictiveness,  President  Johnson  pur 
sued  him,  and  "  caused  a  controlling  interest  [in 
the  paper]  to  be  purchased  by  partisans  who  ousted 
the  admiral  from  the  position. "  Semmes  took  up 
lecturing  on  his  thrilling  career  on  the  Sumter  and 
Alabama,  toured  the  South,  and  netted  about  a 
thousand  dollars  per  mouth,  which,  considering  the 

1  The  best  sketch  of  his  last  years  is  the  article  by  Prof. 
W.  L.  Fleming,  in  N.  O.  Picayune,  May  14,  1911. 


LATER  LIFE  AND  DEATH  347 

circumstances  of  his  audience,  was  princely  com 
pensation.  Still  he  preferred  the  instructor's  chair, 
as  "  I  would  much  rather  be  lecturing  to  a  class  of 
young  men  than  to  a  promiscuous  multitude. "  He 
applied  for  the  place  of  superintendent  of  the  in 
stitution  he  had  withdrawn  from  upon  misinforma 
tion  of  the  death  of  the  incumbent,  but  he  was  only 
too  glad  to  drop  his  scheme  on  learning  that  his 
friend  was  yet  alive.  An  effort  was  made  to  induce 
him  to  become  a  teacher  again,  but  the  salary  offered 
was  not  enough  to  tempt  him  from  the  path  of  lec 
turing  and  law.  He  lived  quietly  in  Mobile,  prac 
ticing  his  profession,  writing  his  memoirs,  diversi 
fying  the  routine  of  life  by  trips  to  Confederate 
reunions  and  visits  to  friends. 

A  very  delightful  recreation  of  the  sort  was  a 
short  time  spent  with  his  efficient  executive  officer, 
Kell,  in  the  home  of  the  latter  on  his  farm  in 
Georgia.  Kell  had  named  his  son  "for  the  ad 
miral,  his  dear  name  being  associated  with  my  last 
dream  of  glory,"  as  Kell  states  it.  The  two  officers 
talked  over  the  stirring  life  they  had  lived  on  the 
ocean,  and  Kell  records  with  deep  gratitude  that 
Semmes  declared  that  he  (Kell)  had  been  his  right 
hand.  "  That  he  should  have  been  satisfied  that  I 
had  done  my  duty,"  Kell  writes,  "was  very  dear 


348  RAPHAEL  SEMMES 

praise  to  me,  and  I  record  it  not  from  vainglorious 
pride  but  from  the  desire  that  my  posterity  may 
know  that  I  did  my  duty." 

Semmes'  days  moved  on  in  tranquillity  in  his 
home  in  Mobile  until  the  end,  on  August  30,  1877. 
His  illness  was  brief  and  comparatively  pain 
less.  He  died  as  he  had  lived,  devoutly  in  the  faith 
of  the  Catholic  Church,  and  it  was  with  her  rites  he 
was  buried  in  Mobile.  Civic  and  military  honors 
were  paid  to  his  memory. 

Nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century  afterward,  on  June 
27,  1900,  a  bronze  statue  of  him  was  unveiled  in 
Mobile,  one  of  those  Gulf  storms  that  he  had  so 
often  faced  coming  on  during  the  proceedings  with 
the  same  suddenness  with  which  he  used  to  burst 
upon  the  unsuspecting  merchantmen  in  that  inland 
sea.  Nine  years  later,  on  the  centennial  of  his  birth, 
the  land  for  which  he  had  boldly  skirted  the  wave 
for  nearly  four  years,  in  defiance  of  a  great  naval 
nation,  proudly  recalled  his  daring  services. 


CHAPTEE  XVI 

THE   "  ALABAMA  "    CLAIMS— A  SEQUEL 

THE  Alabama  ceased  her  destructiveness  on 
June  19,  1864  ;  the  results  of  her  work  were  still  in 
course  of  legal  dispute  and  settlement  in  Washing 
ton  at  least  a  third  of  a  century  later.  In  the  mean 
time  endless  speeches  and  discussions  had  been 
heard,  volumes  of  reports,  despatches,  and  decisions 
had  been  published,  and  a  great  forward  step  had 
been  taken  in  international  relations.  The  two 
great  branches  of  the  English  race  had  nearly  come 
to  blows,  and  had  then  set  a  fine  example  to  the 
world  of  the  peaceful  solution  of  vexatious  and 
harassing  questions  by  arbitration  instead  of  by 
war. 

Friction  had  arisen  between  England  and  Amer 
ica  over  the  meaning  and  interpretation  of  neutral 
rights  and  duties.  Both  powers  were  thoroughly 
committed  by  their  own  acts  to  the  principles  of 
non-interference  in  contests  between  belligerents. 
Before  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century,  in  1794, 


350  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

this  young  republic,  only  half  a  decade  old,  had 
signed  a  treaty  with  her  mother  to  make  pecuniary 
indemnity  for  failure  to  perform  her  duties  of  neu 
trality,  and  under  this  stipulation  she  had  paid  out 
nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars.1 

She  had  followed  up  this  adherence  to  her  doc 
trines  by  passing  an  act  not  quite  a  quarter  of  a 
century  later  prohibiting  her  citizens  from  giving 
military  aid  to  any  country  in  a  contest.  England 
had  done  the  same  through  parliamentary  measures. 
It  was  upon  the  solid  ground  thus  provided  by  both 
that  the  United  States  took  her  stand  in  asking 
compensation  for  the  damages  inflicted  by  the>  Ala 
bama  and  other  cruisers.  Because  of  her  preemi 
nence  in  the  warfare  on  American  commerce,  and 
because  of  the  strong  evidence  against  England  in 
her  case,  she  has  been  made  sponsor  for  all  the 
others,  and  her  name  has  been  given  to  the  entire 
matter.  All  are  spoken  of  as  the  i  i  Alabama  claims. " 

Another  cruiser,  the  Florida,  preceded  the  Ala 
bama  in  escaping  to  the  high  seas,  and  almost 
equaled  her  in  the  extent  of  the  damage  she  inflicted, 
but  English  remissness  was  not  so  flagrant,  nor  was 
her  career  so  extensive,  so  prolonged,  and  so  world- 
renowned.  American  feeling  was  excited  by  her 

1  J.  B.  Moore,  "Digest  of  Int.  Law,"  Vol.  VI,  p.  999. 


THE  "  ALABAMA"  CLAIMS— A  SEQUEL  351 

case  j  it  was  inflamed  by  the  Alabama  coming  close 
upon  the  heels  of  it. 

Both  of  them  were  sharp  incitements  to  the  rising 
tide  of  indignation  in  the  North  against  England  for 
the  undoubted  sympathy  of  her  ruling  class  with  the 
South.  The  utterances  of  some  public  men,  the 
editorials  in  some  papers,  notably  the  Times,  were 
highly  exasperating  to  American  pride.  But  when 
the  Queen's  proclamation  of  neutrality  was  issued, 
on  May  13,  1861,  a  virtual  recognition  of  belliger 
ency,  bitter  and  angry  words  beat  the  air  on  the 
other  side  of  the  ocean,  and  the  seeds  were  sown  that 
were  to  ripen  into  the  demand  for  reparation  imme 
diately  the  home  dissensions  were  stilled  enough  for 
attention  to  be  given  to  the  matter.  The  founda 
tions  for  this  action,  however,  were  laid  at  the  time 
firm  and  deep,  by  the  vigilance  and  foresight  of  the 
American  minister  in  London,  the  coldly  intellectual 
Charles  Francis  Adams. 

He  it  was  who,  after  the  tumult  had  subsided 
in  America,  took  up  the  negotiations  for  a  day  of 
reckoning  with  the  Briton.  But  both  he  and  his 
chief,  W.  H.  Seward,  were  fairly  obsessed  with  what 
they  thought  the  frightful  wrong  and  awful  conse 
quences  of  the  Queen's  proclamation  of  neutrality. 
They  asserted  that  this  was  premature  and  in  defiance 


352  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

of  international  comity,  an  utterly  indefensible  posi 
tion,  as,  of  course,  each  nation  must  be  its  own 
judge  of  the  proper  time  for  such  a  step. 

Adams  was  superseded  by  Eeverdy  Johnson,  who 
simply  ignored  this  preposterous  contention  and 
succeeded  in  getting  a  treaty  from  England  provid 
ing  for  arbitration  in  the  settlement  of  individual 
claims  for  losses,  but  having  nothing  to  do  with  the 
foolish  dispute  over  unfriendly  haste  in  issuing  the 
proclamation,  and  nothing  specific  about  the  national 
aspects  of  the  operations  of  the  cruisers  that  the 
Confederates  had  got  in  England.  Charles  Sumner, 
chairman  of  the  Foreign  Affairs  Committee  of  the 
Senate,  in  a  speech  as  wrong  as  it  was  long,  as 
absurd  as  it  was  grandiose,  denounced  the  agreement 
as  near  an  insult  to  the  dignity  and  rights  of  this 
nation,  and  secured  its  rejection  by  a  vote  virtually 
unanimous.  He  was  so  fanatical  as  to  attribute  the 
vastness  and  prolongation  of  the  Civil  War  to  that 
piece  of  paper  with  the  Queen's  signature  at  the 
bottom  of  it  put  before  the  public  in  a  foreign  realm 
three  thousand  miles  away.  To  him  that  little 
flourish  of  the  pen  was  responsible  not  only  for  the 
destruction  of  commerce  on  the  seas,  but  for  at  least 
half  of  the  huge  expense  of  the  entire  conflict  both 
on  land  and  water,  and  for  staggering  losses  of  the 


THE  "ALABAMA"  CLAIMS— A  SEQUEL  353 

growth  in  wealth  we  might  have  enjoyed  otherwise. 
He  modestly  put  the  money  liability  of  England  at 
twenty-five  hundred  million  dollars.  Sumner's 
figures  became  really  humorous  when  a  great  Eng 
lish  leader  adopting  Sumner's  method  made  out 
England  liable  for  over  seventy-five  hundred  million 
dollars — a  reductio  ad  absurdum  that  effectually  an 
swered  Sumner.  But  Sumner's  address,  although 
bereft  of  reason  and  common  sense,  was  given  an 
official  endorsement  through  its  publication  by 
special  order  of  the  Senate,  such  action  being 
necessary,  since  it  was  spoken  in  secret  session. 
Standing  thus  as  the  view  of  the  government  of  the 
United  States,  it  blocked  the  path  of  diplomacy,  as 
no  Englishman  with  an  atom  of  self-respect,  could 
for  a  second  entertain  such  propositions. 

But  trade  between  the  two  countries  grew,  inter 
course  between  the  peoples  increased,  sensitiveness 
faded,  and  friendliness  mounted  higher,— above  all, 
America  ignored  Sumner's  monstrous  anglophobia, 
dropped  all  foolish  thought  of  indirect  or  conse 
quential  damages,  and  settled  down  to  sensible 
claims  of  compensation  for  the  depredations  of  the 
cruisers. 

On  the  other  hand,  England  also  lost  something  of 
her  lofty  attitude.  At  first,  during  the  war,  Eng- 


354  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

lish  official  tone  was  aloof,  then  cool,  then  con 
temptuous.  The  Foreign  Secretary  bluntly  declared 
that  the  claims  were  not  "  founded  on  any  grounds 
of  law  or  justice."  But  his  successors  were  more 
open  to  argument.  Two  grave  circumstances  helped 
to  hasten  their  change  of  heart ;  the  rapid  success  of 
Germany  in  the  war  with  France  in  1870,  and 
President  Grant's  message  in  December  of  the  same 
year  urging  that  the  United  States  government  it 
self  take  over  the  private  claims  against  England. 
Germany  dominating  on  the  continent  might  shade 
England's  prestige,  and  humble  her  pride.  In  case 
of  conflict,  England  might  need  friends  across  the 
Atlantic.  Grant's  veiled  threat  precluded  all  hope 
of  sympathy,  unless  a  better  understanding  could  be 
reached.  With  both  sides  inclined  to  the  same  end, 
a  juncture  was  soon  effected,  and  the  Treaty  of  Wash 
ington  was  ratified  in  the  spring  of  1871. 

It  provided  for  the  arbitration  of  all  the  claims 
growing  out  of  the  Civil  War  against  England  under 
three  rules  of  neutrality  that  were  incorporated  in 
the  document.  These  three  principles  stipulated 
that  a  neutral  government  must  not  permit  cruising 
operations  to  start  from  its  limits  against  any  power 
with  which  it  is  at  peace,  that  it  must  not  allow  any 
of  its  territory  to  be  used  as  a  base  of  movements 


THE  "ALABAMA"  CLAIMS— A  SEQUEL  355 

against  either  belligerent,  and  that  it  must  "  exer 
cise  due  diligence"  to  discharge  these  " foregoing 
obligations  and  duties."  * 

A  tribunal  of  arbitration  was  enjoined  in  the  first 
article,  which  refers  to  "  the  Alabama  and  other  ves 
sels,"  mentioning  by  name  the  Alabama  only. 
Under  the  terms  of  the  treaty  the  United  States, 
England,  Italy,  Switzerland,  and  Brazil  appointed, 
each,  a  member  of  a  court  that  met  at  Geneva  with 
every  prospect  that  it  would  almost  immediately  dis 
solve,  and  the  whole  scheme  fail,  over  the  vexatious 
question  of  indirect  claims.  Happily,  America  had 
wise  men  among  her  counselors,  and  they  dropped 
all  notions  of  anything  of  the  sort.  The  Tribunal 
itself  eliminated  all  the  cruisers  from  consideration 
except  the  Florida,  Alabama,  and  Shenandoah, 
exonerating  England  from  any  blame  for  the  others. 
The  vote  affirming  England's  responsibility  was 
unanimous  on  the  Alabama  alone.  In  her  case  the 
evidence  was  so  clear  and  strong  that  even  her  own 
representative,  who  all  through  the  proceedings  had 
fought  so  persistently  for  his  side  of  the  case,  de 
clared  that  his  government  was  properly  liable  for 
damages.  The  final  decision  of  the  Tribunal  was 

1  Art.  6  of  Treaty  of  Washington,  p.  550  of  Vol.  I  of 
Moore's  "  International  Arbitration." 


356  EAPHAEL  SEMMES 

that  England  should  pay  to  the  United  States  the 
lump  sum  of  $15,500,000. 

The  essentials  of  the  testimony  as  to  the  Alabama 
show  : 

"That  the  attention  of  the  British  Government 
was  called  to  the  suspicious  character  of  the  vessel 
on  the  23d  of  June  ;  that  her  adaptation  to  warlike 
use  was  admitted  ;  that  her  readiness  for  sea  was 
known  ;  that  evidence  was  submitted  on  the  21st, 
the  23d,  and  finally  on  the  25th  of  July  that  put  her 
character  beyond  a  doubt ;  and  that  in  spite  of  all 
this,  she  was  allowed  to  sail  on  the  29th. " 

These  facts  formed  the  real  foundation  of  the  case 
against  Great  Britain.1 

A  part  of  the  data  submitted  by  the  American  side 
was  an  extract  from  a  speech  by  Cobden  in  the 
House  of  Commons  in  1864.  He  gave  most  striking 
statistics  of  the  ruinous  effects  of  the  cruises  of  the 
Alabama  and  her  sister  ships  on  the  American  carry 
ing  trade.  He  declared  that  "  in  1860  two-thirds  of 
the  commerce  of  New  York  was  carried  on  in 
American  bottoms  ;  in  1863  three-fourths  was  car 
ried  on  in  foreign  bottoms."  England  profited 
directly  by  this  change  as  the  ships  were  transferred 
to  the  British  flag  and  to  British  capitalists.  The 
1  Soley,  "  Blockade  and  Cruisers,"  p.  191. 


THE  "ALABAMA"  CLAIMS— A  SEQUEL  357 

figures  demonstrate  that  there  were  transferred  to 
England,  in  I860,  41  vessels  with  a  tonnage  of 
13,638;  in  1861,  126  vessels,  tonnage  of  71,673  ;  in 
1862,  135  vessels,  tonnage  of  64,578 ;  in  1863,  348 
vessels,  tonnage  of  252,579 ;  in  1864,  106  vessels, 
tonnage  of  92, 052. l 

Another  speaker,  the  president  of  the  English 
Board  of  Trade,  about  the  same  time,  asserted  that 
British  shipping  had  grown  from  a  total  tonnage  of 
about  seven  million  to  something  like  fourteen  mil 
lion. 

The  American  Government  constituted  a  Claims 
Court  to  apportion  the  award  among  the  various 
applicants  who  were  scattered  the  wide  world  over. 
Commissions  were  sent  to  various  points  to  take  de 
positions  and  make  examinations.  The  matter 
dragged  its  tedious  length  for  years,  but  nearly  half 
of  the  total  indemnity,  or  almost  seven  million  dol 
lars,  was  assigned  to  the  sufferers  from  the  Alabama, 
a  wonderful  testimonial  to  the  destructive  skill  and 
energy  of  Eaphael  Semmes. 

1  "  Case  of  the  United  States,"  p.  474. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

RAPHAEL  SEMMES.  Service  Afloat  and  Ashore  dui'ing  the  Mexi 
can  War.  Cincinnati,  1851.  H.  H.  Bancroft  in  his  His 
tory  of  Mexico,  Vol.  V,  p.  551,  says  of  this  book:  «•  The 
work  met  with  so  favorable  a  reception  by  the  public  that 
within  a  year  a  second  edition  was  issued."  Later,  in  ab 
sence  of  author  it  was  abridged  to  The  Campaign  of 
General  Scott  in  the  Valley  of  Mexico — in  aid  01  Scott's 
candidacy  for  the  presidency. 

RAPHAEL  SEMMES.  Service  Afloat,  or  the  remarkable  career  of 
the  Confederate  cruisers  Sumter  and  Alabama  during  the 
War  between  the  States.  Kennedy  and  Sons,  New  York. 

Official  Record  of  the  Union  and  Confederate  Navies  in  the  War 
of  the  Rebellion. 

The  Cruise  of  the  Alabama  and  the  Sumter,  from  the  Private 
Journals  and  Other  Papers  of  Commander  R.  Semmes, 
C.  S.  N.,  and  Other  Officers.  Two  volumes  in  one. 
New  York,  1864  (a  duplicate,  except  verbal  changes, 
of  the  two  volume  edition  of  Saunders,  Otley  &  Co., 
London). 

JOHN  MclNTOSH  KELL.     Recollections  of  a  Naval  Life.     1900. 

-  ARTHUR  SINCLAIR,  LIEUT.  C.  S.  A.     Two  Years  on  the  Alabama. 
1895. 

FREDERICK  MILNES  EDGE.  The  Alabama  and  the  Kearsarge. 
London,  1864. 

The  Cruise  of  the  Alabama.     By  an  Officer  on  Board.     1864. 
The  Cruise  of  the  Alabama.     By  One  of  the  Crew.      1886. 

Narrative  of  the  Cruise  of  the  Alabama  and  List  of  her  Officers 
and  Men.  By  One  of  the  Crew.  London,  1864."- 

ALBERT  M.  GOODRICH.  Cruise  and  Captures  of  the  Alabama. 
1906. 

\ 

\ 


BIBLIOGEAPHY  359 

JAMES  D.  BULLOCK.  The  Secret  Service  of  the  Confederate  States 
in  Europe.  1884. 

JOHN  M.  ELLICOTT.     The  Life  of  John  Ancrum  Winslow.     1902. 

J.  THOMAS  SCHARF.  History  of  the  Confederate  States'  Navy. 
1887. 

DAVID  D.  PORTER.     The  Naval  History  of  the  Civil  War.     1886. 
The  Photographic  History  of  the  Civil  War.     1911. 

Reports  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.  December,  1861,  1862, 
1865. 

GIDEON  WELLES.     Diary.     Three  Vols.     1911. 

JAMES  RUSSELL  SOLEY.  The  Blockade  and  the  Cruisers.  1883, 
1890. 

WINTHROP  I.  MARVIN.     The  American  Merchant  Marine.    1902. 
Battles  and  Leaders  of  the  Civil  War.     1884. 

FRANK  M.  BENNETT.  The  Steam  Navy  of  the  United  States. 
1896. 

EDWARD  STANTON  MACLAY.  A  History  of  the  United  States 
Navy.  1901. 

JOHN  R.  SPEARS.     The  History  of  our  Navy.     1899. 

JAMES  FORD  RHODES.  History  of  the  United  States  from  the 
Compromise  of  1850. 

MRS.  CLAY  OF  ALABAMA.     A  Belle  of  the  Fifties.     1904. 
PARK  BENJAMIN.     The  United  States  Naval  Academy.     1900. 
CHARLES  OSCAR  PAULLIN.     Dueling  in  the  Old  Navy.     1909. 
SIR  WILLIAM  BUTLER.     An  Autobiography.     London,  1911. 
FREDERICK  TREVOR  HILL.     Decisive  Battles  of  the  Law.     1907. 

The  Case  of  the  United  States  to  be  laid  before  the  Tribunal  of 
Arbitration  at  Geneva.  Washington,  1871. 

Papers  Relating  to  the  Proceedings  of  the  Tribunal  of  Arbitration 
at  Geneva.  Two  parts,  London,  1873. 

Newspapers,  of  appropriate  dates:  New  York  Times,  Herald, 
Tribune,  Evening  Post ;  New  Orleans  Times- Democrat, 
Picayune;  Mobile  Register;  Montgomery  Advertiser; 
Richmond  Inquirer ;  London  Times, 


360  BIBLIOGKAPHY 

Confederate  Veteran,  Mentkiy  Magaxuu.     Nashville,  Tenn. 
Our  Living  and  Our  Dead,  Magazine.     1874-1876. 
Southern  Bivouac,  Magazine.     Louisville,  Ky.     About  1882. 

Soldiers  and  Sailors.     Historical  Society  of  Rhode  Island.     Fifth 
Series,  No,  3,  1894. 

New  England  Historical  and  General  Register.     VoL  35. 


INDEX 


Abby  Bradford,  capture  of,  137. 

Adams,  C.  F.,  efforts  to  hold  the 
Alabama,  166-168;  on  Ala 
bama  claims,  351. 

Admiralty  Court,  193-194. 

Agrippina,  the,  203,  221. 

Alabama,  the,  building  and  es 
cape,  166-168;  description 
of,  173-176;  crew  of,  177- 
178;  officers  of,  179;  battle 
with  Hatteras,  205-209  ;  dis 
order  on  in  Jamaica,  217  ; 
repaired  at  Pulo  Condore, 
249-250  ;  at  anchor  in  Cher 
bourg,  264 ;  comparison  of 
with  the  Kearsarge,  267- 
268  ;  battle  with  Kearsarge, 
274-278  ;  casualties  in  Kear- 
sarge  battle,  285  ;  poem  on, 

Alabama  admiralty  court,  193- 

194. 

Alabama  claims,  349-357. 
Alabama- Kearsarge  battle,  274- 

278 ;     newspaper     comment 

on,  305-317. 

Albert  Adams,  capture  of,  132. 
Alert,  capture  of,  1 86. 
Altamaha,  capture  of,  187. 
Amanda,  capture  of,  245. 
Amazonian,    capture    of,    226, 

337- 
Angra    Pequena,    Semmes    at, 

233-234- 

Anna  F.  Schmidt,  capture  of, 
227. 


Arbitration  on   Alabama  case, 

349-357. 

Arcade,  capture  of,  153. 
Areas,  island,  201. 
Argus,  account  of  Alabama  at 

Cape  Town,  230-232. 
Ariel,  capture  of,  202. 
Armstrong,  Lieutenant,  179. 
Azores,  Semmes  at,  171. 

BAHIA,  Semmes  at,  224. 
Baldwin,  Captain,  235. 
Banks,  General,  200. 
Baron   de    Casting,  capture  of, 

!95- 

Battle,  Alabama  and  Hatteras, 
205—209  ;  Alabama  and 
Kearsarge,  274-278;  papers 
on,  305-317. 

Ben  Dunning,  capture  of,  132. 

Benjamin  Tucker,  capture  of, 
187. 

Bethiah  Thayer,  capture  of,  220. 

Blanquilla,  island,  199. 

Boers,  neutrality  of,  229-230. 

Bolles,  J.  A.,  prosecutor  of 
Semmes,  334-340. 

Boyle,  V.  F.,  poem  by  on  Ala 
bama,  316-317. 

Brazil,  neutrality  of,  221. 

Brilliant,  capture  of,  190. 

Brooklyn,  1 1 8-1 22. 

Browne,  Kearsarge  surgeon, 
276. 

Bullock,  J.  D.,  Confederate 
agent,  166,  178. 


362 


ItfDEX 


Bullock,  Lieutenant,  179. 

CADIZ,  Semmes  at,  154-157. 
California      "  treasure      ship," 

200-202. 
Cape  Town,  Semmes  at,  230- 

233- 

Castor,  at  Bahia,  225. 
Causes  for  Southern  secession, 

97-99- 

Cavalier  in  South,  101. 
Cienfuegos,  prizes  in,  131-134. 
Chain  armor  on  the  Alabama, 

298-300. 

Charles  Hill,  capture  of,  220. 
Chatelaine,  capture  of,  218. 
Cherbourg,    battle    off    harbor, 

_  274- 27  8. 

Cipher  adopted  by  Semmes,  115. 
Comoro  Islands,  257. 
Confederate   cruisers,  effects  of, 

356-357- 

Connemara,  death  of,  281. 
Conner,  Commodore,  70. 
Conrad,  capture  of,  226. 
Consort,  34. 

Contest,  capture  of,  246-247. 
Courser,  capture  of,  187. 
"  Covering  cargoes,"  193. 
Cr ens  haw,  capture  of,  195. 
Creole,  36. 

Ciiba,  capture  of,  131. 
Cuban  neutrality,  131-134. 
Curacoa,  Semmes  in,  135. 

Daniel  Trowbridge,  capture  of, 

141. 

Davis,  Jefferson,  toast  to,  202. 
Deerhound,    the,    rescue    work 

of,      278-279 ;      controversy 

over,  300-305. 
Diomede,  228. 
Documenting     property,     193- 

194,  220. 


Dominica,  island  of,  196. 
Dorcas  Prince,  capture  of,  224. 
Dunkirk,  capture  of,  190. 
Dutch  West  Indies,  neutrality 
of»  *  35- !  37- 

Eben  Dodge,  capture  of,  154. 

Electra,  the,  84. 

Elisha  Dunbar,  capture  of, 
187-189. 

Emerson,  R.  W.,  on  Texas  an 
nexation,  79. 

Emily  Farnum,  capture  of, 
190. 

Emma  Jane,  capture  of,  256. 

Emperor  of  Germany  on 
Semmes,  344. 

England,  neutrality  of,  157- 
160;  Tuscaloosa  case,  261- 
262. 

English  Channel,  scenes  in,  270. 

English  West  Indies,  neutral 
ity  of,  140. 

Escape    of    the    Sumter,    Il6- 

122,  I5I-I53. 

Express,  capture  of,  228. 
Eytinge,  Captain,  144. 

FANATICISM,  political,  81. 
Farragut,  Admiral,  midshipman, 

30- 
Feeling  between  England  and 

United  States,  349-351. 
Fernando  de  Noronha,  221. 
Feudal  system  in  Mexico,  72. 
Flirt,  the,  84,  85. 
Flores,  island  of,  181. 
Florida,   at    Pernambuco,  225, 

35°»  355- 
Fort  de  France,  Semmes  in, 

148,  196. 
France,  neutrality  in  Myers 

case,  160-163;  neutrality  in 


INDEX 


363 


East,     249 ;     neutrality,     at 

Cherbourg,  264-265. 
Freeman,  Engineer,  179. 
Friction     between     Scott    and 

Worth,  57. 
Fugitive  Slave  Law,  100. 

GALT,  SURGEON,  179. 
Georgia,  at  Bahia,  225. 
Gibraltar,  the,  165. 
Gilder  sleeve,  capture  of,  225. 
Golden  Eagle,  capture  of,  219. 
Golden.   Rocket,  destruction  of, 

128-131. 

Golden  Rule,  capture  of,  218. 
Gowin,  William,  284. 
Grand  Banks,  190. 
Grant,  President,  on  Alabama 
^  case,  354. 

Guianas,  Semmes  at,  140. 
Gulf  Stream,  captures  in,  190- 

195- 

HALLS  of  the  Montezumas,  49. 
Hartford    Convention,  Semmes 

on,  95-96. 
Hatteras,  the,  battle  with,  205- 

210. 

Highlander,  capture  of,  255. 
Holland,  neutrality  of,  135-137. 
Hottsatonic,  the,  104. 

Ino,  the,  212. 

Investigator,  capture  of,  157. 
Iroquois,    143 ;    at   St.    Pierre, 
149-I53- 

Jabez  Snow,  capture  of,  226. 
Jalapa,    51;    climate    of,    62; 

women  of,  65. 
Jamaica,  Semmes  at   island  of, 

T     2I3~217' 

Johanna,  257. 


John  Parks,  capture  of,  220. 
Johnson,     President,     and 

Semmes,  334,  340-343- 
Johnson,  Reverdy,  352. 
Joseph    Maxwell,   capture    of, 

139-140. 
Justina,  capture  of,  225. 

Kate  Cory,  capture  of,  223. 

Kearney,  Captain,  56. 

Kearsarge,  pursuit  of  Alabama, 
212;  arrival  at  Cherbourg, 
264;  comparison  of  with  the 
Alabama,  267-268 ;  battle 
with  Alabama,  274-278; 
conduct  of  crew  in  battle, 
283 ;  chain  armor  on,  298- 
299  ;  wreck  of,  286-287. 

Kell,  J.  M.,  midshipman,  123; 
on  Alabama,  179;  in  battle 
with  Kearsarge,  274-278 ; 
views  of  Alabama  battle, 
296 ;  visit  of  Semmes  to, 
347-348. 

Kingfisher,  capture  of,  22O. 

Kingston,  209. 

Krakatoa,  245. 

Lafayette,  capture  of,  195  ;  cap 
ture  of  at  Fernando  de  No- 
ronha,  223. 

Laird,  John,  Alabama  builder, 
172. 

Lairds,  Alabama  builders,  169. 

Lancaster,  John,  neutrality  of, 

3OI-3°5- 

Lauretta,  capture  of,  195. 

Lee,  R.  E.,  Semmes  on,  59. 

Levi  Starbuck,  capture  of,  195. 

Lincoln,  President,  proclama 
tion  on  privateering,  124- 
125;  toast  to,  202. 

Llewellyn,  Surgeon,  179  ;  death 
of,  280. 


364 


INDEX 


London  Times,  on  Alabama- 
Kearsarge  battle,  305-307. 

Louisa  Hatch,  capture  of,  221. 

Louisa  Kilham,  capture  of, 
132. 

Low,  Lieutenant,  179. 

Mac/iias,  capture  of,  131. 
Mamtt,  J.  W.,  35. 
Mahan,  A.  T.,  143. 
Mallory,  S.  R.,  109. 
Manchester,  capture  of,  190. 
Maranham,  Semmes  at,  140. 
Mars,  Michael,  rescue  by,  258- 

259  ;  heroism  of,  282. 
Martaban,  capture  of,  252. 
Martha  Wenzel,  release  of,  233. 
Martinique,  Semmes  at,  142. 
Maury,  Commodore,  27. 
Memphis  Bulletin,  346. 
Merrimac,  the,  104. 
Mexico,      industries     of,      67 ; 

lower  class  of,  67-68  ;  social 

classes  in,  73-75  ;  two  races 

in,  75. 
Midshipmen,  regulations  for,  15 ; 

quarters  for,  16;  discipline  of, 

18-19;  duelingamong,  20-22; 

education  of,  22-28;  numbers, 

29. 

Mohican,  the,  212. 
Montmorenci,  capture  of,  153. 
Monument  to  Semmes,  348. 
Moore,  E.  W.,  69. 
Moors,  Myers  captured  by,  160- 

163. 

Morning  Star,  capture  of,  220. 
Morocco,    neutrality    of,    160- 

163. 
Myers,   Paymaster,  capture   of, 

160-163. 

Naiad,  capture  of,  132. 
Nassau,  Semmes  at,  170. 


Naval  strength  of  North  and 
South,  105. 

Navy  promotions,  69. 

Neapolitan,  capture  of,  157. 

Neutrality,  Cuba,  131  ;  Spanish 
West  Indies,  133  ;  Dutch 
West  Indies,  135  ;  British 
West  Indies,  140;  French 
West  Indies,  148  ;  Spanish, 
154-157  ;  English  at  Gi 
braltar,  157-160;  Morocco 
(Myers  case),  160-163  ;  Eng 
lish  on  captured  property, 
191  ;  Brazilian,  221  ;  Tusca- 
loosa  case  at  Cape  Town, 
261-262. 

New  York,  Semmes'  nearness 
to,  195. 

New  York  Evening  Post,  on 
Alabama-Kearsarge  battle, 

3"-3'3- 

New  York  Herald,on  Alabama- 
Kearsarge  battle,  309—310. 

New  York  Times,  on  Alabama- 
Kearsarge  battle,  309. 

New  York  Tribune,  on  Ala 
bama-Kearsarge  battle,  310- 

3"- 

Nora,  capture  of,  220. 

Northers,  62. 

Nye,  capture  of,  224. 

Ocean  Rover,  capture  of,  182. 
Ocmulgee,  capture  of,  180. 
Olive  Jane,  capture  of,  219. 
Onward,  the,  212. 
Orizaba,  61 

PALMER,  CAPTAIN,  pursuit  of 
Sumter,  144  ;  at  St.  Pierre, 


Palmetto,  capture  of,  219. 
Parker  Cooke,  capture  of,  2OI. 
Peons  compared  with  slaves,  68. 


INDEX 


365 


Pernambuco,  225. 
Perry,  M.  C.,  45,  49,  50. 
Piracy,  charge  of,  125-127,  335. 
Polk,     President,     protest     to 

Mexico,  49. 
Porpoise,  the,  34,  85. 
Porter,    Admiral,    midshipman, 
30;    on   Semmes,    111-112; 
on  Semmes'  trail,  145-146. 
Port  Royal,  213. 
Portuguese,  neutrality  at  Azores, 

171-172. 

Priesthood  in  Mexico,  73. 
Prisoners    icleased    at    Flores, 

183-185. 

Privateering,  in  Mexican  War, 
70 ;  in  Civil  War,  7 1  ;  Lin 
coln's  proclamation  on,  124- 
125  ;  Soley  on,  125-127. 
Puebla,  scene  of,  64. 
Pulo  Condore,  island  of,  248. 
Punjatib,  capture  of,  220. 
Puritan  in  North,  101. 
Pursuit    of    the    Sumter,    142- 
146;  Alabama,  211-213. 

QUITMAN,  GENERAL,  59. 

RELEASE  of  captives  at  Flores, 
183-185. 

Richmond  Enquirer,  on  Ala 
bama-  Kearsarge  battle,  313— 

3*5- 

Riot  on  Alabama,  197. 
Rockingham,  capture  of,  264. 
Rogers,  Passed  Midshipman,  49. 

Sabine,  the,  212. 

St.  Domingo,  Semmes  at,  218. 

St.  Louis,  the,  212. 

St.  Paul,  islet  of,  243. 

St.  Peter,  islet  of,  243. 

St.  Pierre,  148. 

Saldanha  Bay,  228. 


San  Jacinto,  the,  198-199,212. 

Scott,  General  W.,  at  Vera 
Cruz,  45 ;  despatch  to  Santa 
Anna,  54,  56 ;  Semmes  on, 

58. 

Sea  Bride,  capture  of,  230 ;  on 
west  coast,  233 ;  loss  of, 

234. 

Sea  Lark,  capture  of,  224. 

Secession,  justification  of,  87- 
100  ;  Lodge  on,  102. 

Secretary  of  the  Navy  of  United 
States  on  Semmes,  124-125. 

Semmes,  Raphael,  early  life, 
12-14;  midshipman,  14-31; 
marriage,  33  ;  appointed  lieu 
tenant,  34  ;  first  visit  to  Mex 
ico,  34  |  loss  of  the  Somers, 
39-45  >  with  army  invading 
Mexico,  49-57  ;  character 
izations  of  officers,  58-59 ; 
description  of  Mexican 
women,  65-66 ;  on  navy 
promotions,  69  ;  on  privateer 
ing,  70  ;  on  future  of  Mexico, 
76;  expansionist,  76-83; 
justification  of  secession,  87- 
IOO ;  resignation  from  United 
States  service,  106 ;  special 
mission  to  North,  108  ;  choos 
ing  the  Sumter,  no;  char 
acterization  of,  III-H2;  es 
cape  on  Sumter,  116-122; 
at  Cienfuegos,  131-134;  at 
Curacoa,  135-137;  in 
Venezuela,  137-139;  escape 
at  St.  Pierre,  149-153;  at 
Cadiz,  154-157  ;  at  Gibraltar, 
157-160;  takes  command  of 
Alabama,  172-176;  speech 
to  Alabama  crew  at  Azores, 
177;  in  Gulf  Stream,  190; 
destruction  of  Hatter  as,  205- 
210;  in  Jamaica,  213-217; 


366 


INDEX 


at  Saldanha  Bay,  228-230; 
at  Singapore,  250-252;  in 
Comoro  Islands,  258 ;  de 
spondency  of,  263-264  ;  par 
allelism  with  Winslow,  269 ; 
speech  to  Alabama  crew,  27 1- 
272 ;  in  battle  with  the  Kear- 
sarge,  274-278;  report  of 
Kearsarge  battle,  289-292 ; 
return  home,  318-321  ;  made 
rear-admiral,  322 ;  last  mili 
tary  service,  323-325  ;  im 
prisonment  of,  325-344 ;  ca 
reer  after  war,  344-3^8. 

Seward,  W.  H.,  on  Alabama 
case,  351. 

Shenandoah,  the,  355. 

Shipyards,  Southern,  103. 

Simon's  Town,  Semmes  at,  233, 
235,  260. 

Sinclair,  testimony  of  on  Ala 
bama  battle,  296,  298. 

Sinclair,  Lieutenant,  179. 

Singapore,  Semmes  at,  250- 
252. 

Soley,  J.  R.,  on  privateering, 
125-127. 

Solferino,  the,  337. 

Somers,  the,  35  ;  loss  of,  39-45. 

Sonora,  capture  of,  255. 

South,  grief  over  loss  of  Ala 
bama,  313-315. 

Spencer,  Anne  E.,  33. 

State   rights,  Semmes  on,  87- 

IOO. 

Sumner,  Charles,  352. 
Sumter,    commissioned,      115; 

officers  of,  123-124;  sale  of, 

165. 

T.  B.  Wales,  capture  of,  195. 
Talisman,  capture  of,  226. 
Tangier,  160. 
Tatnall,  Commodore,  27-28. 


Texan  Star,  capture  of,  252. 
Tonawandat  capture  of,  190. 
Trade  winds  and  fair  weather, 

257- 

Treaty  of  Washington,  354. 
Trinidad,  Semmes  at,  140. 
Tuscaloosa,    commissioning    of, 

227  ;  near  Cape  Town,  230  ; 

on  west  coast,  233 ;  at  Cape 

Town,  260,  261. 
Tuscarora,  the,  169-212. 
Tuspapan,  48. 
Twiggs,  General,  59. 
"  290,"  the,  167-168. 
Tycoon,  capture  of,  264. 


Union,  capture  of,  201. 
Union  Jack,  capture  of,  224. 

Vanderbilt,  pursuit  of  Alabama, 

235>  241- 
Venezuela,  neutrality  of,   137- 

139. 
Vera    Cruz,   bombardment    of, 

45-47- 

Vigilant,  capture  of,  153. 
Virginia,  capture  of,  187. 

Warren,  the,  34. 
Washington,  capture  of,  219. 
Wave  Crest,  capture  of,  190. 
Weatherguage,  capture  of,  186. 
Webster,  D.,  Semmes  on,  90- 

91. 

Wells,  Gideon,  epithets  applied 
to  Semmes,  124-125  ;  report 
on  Semmes,  307-308 ;  diary 
of  on  Semmes,  332-333. 
West  Wind,  capture  of,  132. 
Wilson,  Lieutenant,  179. 
Winged  Racer,  capture  of,  246. 
Winslow,  John  A.,  reception  of 


INDEX  367 

Semmes'      challenge,     266  ;  Worth,  General  W.  J.,  57  ;  on 

parallelism     with      Semmes,  Semmes,  60 ;  his  slave,  68. 

269;   speech    to   men,    269;  Wyoming,  in  Strait  of  Sunda, 

report    of    Alabama    battle,  245. 

292-295 ;      witness      against 

Semmes,  326,  339.  "YANKEE"  seamanship,  193. 

Women  of  Mexico,  65-66.  Yellow  fever,  Semmes  on,  62- 

Work  of  Confederate  cruisers,  63. 

Yucatan,  American  rule  in,  77. 


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